The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 60.6 in August–the lowest reading since November 2011–from a revised 65.4 in July, first reported as 65.9. The latest index falls short of the 66.0 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The unexpected part was, of course, entirely predictable. So is, for that matter, the actual fall in sentiment.

When measuring inflation, these days, economists like to exclude food and energy prices for what are, no doubt, sound technical reasons. But if you shop at supermarkets and drive a vehicle that burns gasoline, you will have noticed that a dollar does not go as far as it did ...  oh, yesterday morning.  There has been, of course, no offsetting boom in wages.

To the contrary, we are living through an economic "recovery" during which median incomes are actually falling; a neat trick and something only current Washington policies could accomplish.