Pollsters at ABC have come to the conclusion that their consumer index is driven more by real-life experiences than by reaction to the news. That's the same finding of Richard Curtin, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, another prominent measure of the public's economic mood. Consumer confidence has remained at relatively high levels, but change is important. The economists said they don't sense a panic, but they also don't expect a quick return to the unbridled optimism of recent years. By late last year, people had been spending all of their income and accumulating near-record levels of debt, Curtin said.
Consumers clearly are concerned now about where things are going.