What is Occupy Wallstreet?

[kandrathe]

It gives us a baseline from which to measure things. This just tells us how things are relative to how they were last year - a bad year following a terrible year is the same as an amazing year following a great year.

Right. So, you'd see a positive upward value, followed by another upward positive value. The upward slope indicates the amount of amazing.

It measures spending relative to last year's spending. Is that really what we want to know? Especially for (going back to the whole point of this) calculating when we're back to "normal" demand, whatever that is? Presumably that's a level, not a velocity, or acceleration?

The slope of the line would indicate the velocity of change. YOY +6% increase in spending, or YOY +12% increase in spending. Theoretically then, inflation would be a factor of the slope of the line. Steep up would indicate periods where prices would likely increase, and steep down would indicate possible deflationary periods. To me... Normal would be a GDP growing at between 3%-5%

Okay. But its actual workings are obscure to us, no? We just have to kind of take their word for it that it's something sensible?

They seem to be getting some renown in the financial rags for having a better economic leading indicator than the BEA.