Seriously, Americans Feel Good About the Economy
In October we saw the highest Consumer Sentiment rating in five years. Guess what? We just topped that. Consumer Sentiment, while similar to Consumer Confidence, is a measure of how people feel about buying things, like refrigerators or whatever your household needs, right now. And it's one more indicator, along with 170,000-plus new jobs in October and better-than-expected GDP growth (among other things) that the U.S. economy is in the middle of a recovery.
RELATED: Look on the Bright Side: It's Just Our Gas Stations That Are Failing
"The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 84.9, up from 82.6 the month before," reads the Reuters report. "This was the most positive outlook for the overall economy in more than five years," survey director Richard Curtin said. Five is the magic number, because five years ago Americans weren't even thinking about the recession and the economic turmoil and everything turning into stink—all that mess has been a reality for Americans for the past four years.
RELATED: Paul Krugman's New Intra-Times Feud: Andrew Ross Sorkin's 'Zombie Ideas'
This might also mean that more and more Americans want to treat themselves to the "treat yo self" movement. (It's Friday, go do it!).
