The Great Hornswoggle

I recently returned from a perfectly enjoyable family vacation in the United Kingdom 
And I brought these curious polling statistics back with me to share:

• 55% of Americans believe the economy is in recession; when factually Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing and our economic reality is the envy of the rest of the world.

• 49% believe that unemployment is at record levels; when factually it is at a 50-year record low.

• 49% think the stock market is down; when factually it is (as of the publication date of this post) at record highs.

This is real world stuff.  And if this polling is believable who knew that this thinking is so pervasive and Americans so persuadable to believe otherwise. 

When an individual is susceptible and acquiescent to embrace fallacious disinformation; 19th century American showman PT Barnum had a useful descriptor for the phenomena.  Follow this link at The Guardian to learn more.