Americans are smarter than you think

This report from Reuters provides new hope that Americans may not be quite as dumb as many politicians and economists think.

Most in U.S. think economy still in trouble - survey
The majority of U.S. consumers do not think the worst of the U.S. economic crisis is behind them and plans to spend on luxury items remain low, a new survey showed on Tuesday.

Only 34.3 percent of consumers surveyed by America's Research Group said they think the worst of the crisis has passed, while 52 percent said they did not think the worst was over yet.

"The consumer still feels that they are in the bottom of this pit and they are by no means getting out of it," said Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group, which polls consumers on spending behavior.

It seems that the nation needs a pep-talk. Maybe something along the lines of "everyone go out and buy an SUV" that was uttered by a Federal Reserve official back around 2001.