What are these indicators and how ordinary people perceive them? Increase in demand and production are considered leading economic indicators while employment is generally considered a lagging economic indicator. This is an established measure and I do not have any dispute on that account. What I would like to add is that consumer confidence is probably a far more credible indicator of an economic recovery and vice versa. It is the lack of public confidence in the government that should send alarm bells to the financial markets. The media or the so-called fourth estate has an obligation towards their audiences to warn them of the national mood. A good example of a leading economic indicator is the stock market. A stock market provides an up-to-date data and is a direct reflection of a country’s economy. Here in the United States of America the media failed to articulate a narrative to warn the people of an impending crisis. The electronic media is so polarized between left and right, liberal and conservatives, that they ignore the reason of their very existence. We don’t really care if George W Bush was a devil and that Barack Obama is a saint. What we care about is the future of this economy and the well being of the people.
Filed under: American, International Tagged: | Barack Obama, consumer confidence, George W Bush, Increase in demand and production, leading and lagging economic indicators, United States of America
