" Since my strategy is to short the consumer...."
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leon...
I understand what you mean, and agree with it. To me, though, the important thing is that the "consumer" is everything at the heart of the economy. As you imply, the consumer is now the crux of the problem and is leading us into a new leg down in this recession. When the consumer is in trouble, as now, everything winds down putting the consumer in even more trouble - it begins to feed on itself.
mlsoft