belief that what happened with that debt ceiling has made it so we re just so dysfunctional that consumers aren t spending. we are literally seeing consumers cut back. lots of corporations are cutting back. just because they feel that things are so awry, so out of control, that they don t want to spend money. that s why we turn to you. thank you so very much. don t miss mad money with jim cramer weekdays on cnbc. republican candidates are trying to build momentum before saturday s big straw poll in iowa but some of the oxygen is being taken up by a pair of potential candidates, or at least one who is almost in the race, one we don t think is going to get in. rick perry and sarah palin, both crashing the party. chuck todd is nbc news political director and host of the rundown. chuck, it s just too much drama. rick perry and sarah palin showing up, perry obviously
demand. if consumers aren t walking into doors, into stores and into the small businesses, mid-size, large businesses, investors aren t motivated to sing that cash into new projects. consumption the foundation of the vast majority of the economic activity and prosperity in recent years. at the same time a lot of that consumption was funded through borrowed money, individually borrowed or institutionally borrowed or a surf rovereign le. is the debt crisis that led, or maybe perhaps fed into the consumption boom, a wake-up fall for us? in other words do we need to relook the way we re looking at tax policy, looking at banking policy an trade policy to drive investment and prauxz as opposed to consumption and borrowing? it s not just the policies you mention although they re all important. look, the american middle class got nowhere in the decade of the 2,000s.
of the numbers back up. a lot of americans believe we are headed for another recession. a lot of americans don t like where we are right now. what is the political impact and more importantly, what is the impact on consumers decision to start spending money and start, you know, kick start the economy back? it s like a vicious cycle. a vicious feedback loop. part of the reason consumers aren t spending big is because they don t have money. we talked about it and we re going to talk about it more later in the show. there s no confidence in government right now. there s a sense in business and among consumers. when they look at what goes on in congress, if the leaders can t get their act together and produce a long-term fiscal plan that makes sense, how can people have confidence about buying a new car and factory?