however, the government will almost never say we're in a recession currently. they will acknowledge that we were in one once we're out, but if they prattle on about how the current situation is bad, it will only make it worse.
which leads to us mistrusting them anyway. its a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I see how this could be the case, but I also suspect that having an accurate idea of how the economy is doing might help people. I don't think the consumer confidence index is something that should only be really, really high. If, for example, consumers realize they must tighten their belts, they may put less money on their credit cards, freeing capital so it can address the current credit crunch.
unlikely. the thing is, the credit crunch won't get fixed by people purely saving. if everyone saves, companies will find themselves in tougher times from small revenues, and although there might be more money to go around, the businesses won't be there to borrow it.
both businesses and consumers need to be in that happy medium of spending, saving, and borrowing to make the wheels turn.