Mike Whitney — The True State of the Economy

At the same time the corporations and banks are reporting record profits, Gallup surveys show that “trust in all three branches of the federal government remains on the lower end of what Gallup has measured historically” while “Americans’ trust in banks fell to an all-time low of 18% — lower than its level at the height of the global financial collapse.” (Gallup)

So, there is a tradeoff for all the loot Obama’s friends have been pilfering from working people, and that tradeoff is trust. Americans no longer have confidence in the government, the market or the justice system. Gradually, that lack of trust will cross-over into the economy as wary consumers set aside more of their earnings to protect themselves from the government-corporate-racketeer oligarchy. A slowdown in personal consumption will impact retail sales, durable goods, hiring and capital investment. It will douse those green shoots with motor oil and push the economy back into negative territory.

Counterpunch
The True State of the Economy
Mike Whitney

The "confidence fairy" isn't a total myth. Trust in government does count socially, politically and economically.

Obama has been a disaster that has been magnified by GOP obstructionism. Luckily, the obstructionism has at least prevented the Grand Bargain that Obama is seeking to cement his legacy as a Very Serious Person that cut entitlements and balanced the budget, in emulation of Bill Clinton's policy of triangulation.