FBI Director Louis Freeh blames the missing document fiasco on computer glitches and administrative mismanagement. But that's not what retired FBI agent Dan Vogel, who was the Bureau Spokesman in Oklahoma City, says. If he had done something like that, he'd have been disciplined for it. Economics is about dollars and cents, profit and loss, supply and demand. And because it's about human expectations, it's also about psychology.
Reality creates the perception to some extent.
But only to some extent. It's just as true that perception creates the reality. That's why consumer confidence is so important. And that's why the latest report from The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center is so encouraging. We've had a rebound in confidence, basically driven by consumers' expectations.