what happens is, all of these higher prices, they hold back consumer spending. even consumer confidence is getting better, but it s not great because people still are holding back on spending because they re not feeling that 17,000 that we re seeing on the screen right now. poppy? yeah. you know, it s always important to look at the headline number and then look beyond it. this is a two tiered recovery. we have to go. christine, do you think this is an inflection point? i think it is. when you have five months in a row like this 200,000 jobs created and the kind of confidence it s going to start to build. companies, recruiters and ceos say they ve been so to the bone for so many years and now seeing demand come back they have to higher. the hope is they have to start to higher quickly. in parts of the economy moving for six months, eight months, silicon valley, anything that s engineering in i. tchblgts there are talent wars. people are making money. but not everywhere. still a l
population that say they re holding on tight to their purse strings. what does all this mean for the economy? joining us is david nelson, ceo of asset management, always good to see you. most of us dream of a white christmas. retailers dream of a green christmas. are they going to get it? i think the operative word is we are seeing a modest recovery. we have seen some of the retailers report and the numbers have been expected. but i think it s important to point out that what we re seeing in the economy, rick, is we re seeing a two tiered recovery. at the high end of the earning stream, then you ll see strong spending. if you re middle class and employed, then you ll see an uptick. but if you re the low end and you re living on the edge and don t have is a job, then it s going to be pretty tough. it s going to be very hard for them. rick: we ll talk about the different income levels and the folks who are still looking for a job or who have been out of work for some time. they re no