Consumer Confidence Hits 43 Year Low, Wall Street Bonuses Up 17%

Massive date correction on those articles, this is the CNN Money story I meant to post, which is from this morning (for realzies) in which the measure printed for consumers’ present situation reflects a 27 year low.  The gist is still the gist, unfortunately:

Consumer confidence tumbles in February

By Chavon Sutton, staff reporterFebruary 23, 2010: 12:31 PM ET

February’s present situation index, which indicates how consumers feel about current economic conditions, hit a 27 year low of 19.4, according to the Conference Board. That means that consumers feel things are worse now than they were during the throes of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008.

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I find it delightfully ironic that both of these headlines came out within 24 hours of each other.  100 years from now, economists will still be trying to make heads or tails of this dichotomy.

CNN Money – February 24, 2009: 10:27 AM ET Consumer confidence plummets

Wall Street Journal – FEBRUARY 23, 2010, 9:32 A.M. ET Wall Street Bonuses Rise 17%

John Edwards may be a lightweight, populist-baiting adulterer, but he may have been onto something with his “Two Americas” thing…

This is what happens to an economy when the senior figures in charge of the money decide to stimulate banks and treat small businesses as an afterthought.  Partisans can say whatever they want, the data is the data.

With recoveries like these, who needs recessions?