Gray Skies over California
Consumer confidence in the Golden State has sunk to Gray Davis levels:
Californians' consumer confidence in the economy took a dive in the second quarter of 2007, plunging into the pool of pessimism by 19 index points.Economist Esmael Adibi called the drop "astonishing" - the steepest he's seen since 2002 when Chapman University's Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research of Orange County began sending surveys to California residents.
Pain at the pump, despite recent price drops. Uncertainty over the housing market. Sticker shock in grocery stores. Those are among the conditions Adibi cited for the cold-water splash.
When people lack confidence in the economy, they spend less, the economy cools further, and ... tax revenues tank. All of which makes Gov. Schwarzenegger's tenuous budget plans look all the more ... Gray.
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