There are more than enough significant and well documented economic reasons for the present economic funk. And, thus, the strong consumer reaction at the retail level engendered by those.

No need to beat on this heard of horses. They are long deceased and on their way to the glue factory: “liar loans” recipients' and their criminal lenders' driven sub-prime crisis, the extraordinary cost of our pathetic and losing global oil and foreign policies, the short term criminal perspective of some businesses, a critically arrogant banking system devoid of regulatory oversight, perilously close to being entirely controlled by Middle Easterners, and so on and on and on.

And a GDP of $14 Trillion. And growing.

But.... Here is one of the significant components of market retail-hysterics.

Barns knows one of the bigger companies in Southern California who has a lot of valet parking lot concessions mostly at restaurants. In the past two months, they have increased their rates by 38%. Why? Well, their operating expenses, including labor, have not gone up. The number of customers they service has gone down a bit. Not 38%. Why raise prices by 38%?

Why not! People expect things to be more expensive, therefore, “the market will bear the increases.” Bingo: a profit making exercise that feeds on .... MARKET RETAIL-HYSTERICS.

What is lost in all this is the self-fulfilling prophecy: the downward vortex in all segments of commerce caused by a psychographic impact on all consumers.

Things should suck. Therefore they [really] do.

Shortly after Barns recovers from hysterical laughter, he will ponder the BIG P.C. QUESTION...

This moron will be prosecuted for "intentional possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver." Clearly, PROCTER & GAMBLE, the makers of Safeguard Soap, are missing the BIG IDEA!!

The next wave of hysterical laughter will come when the Attorney General prosecutes this hapless ENTREPRENEUR for deceptive advertising!

If he had only used fragrance-free Ivory soap....