Economics question-what do the economic indicators really tell us?

I have a moderately conservative friend that is an ex-pat. All he really sees of the US is the stuff he reads in the business rags, eg stocks, employment, all the economic indicators. He was back in the US and we were talking about it and he was asking me why people were so unhappy with the president and the state of the country. He seemed to think the country was doing quite well. My response was that I think there is more to it than the "indicators" would lead someone to believe. I don't have any hard facts, but it seems that while companies are doing well, many americans are not because of increases in the cost of many essentials, lower job quality, longer work hours, real income having decreased, the war, etc.

I guess, my issue is, what do the economic indicators that the business industry uses tell us (things like GDP, job growth, consumer confidence, etc)? Is there any correlation between them and how well the "common American" is doing? Are these indicators being propped up artifically b/c and may crash if the phenomenal debt this country has ever comes due?

thanks
HoD

occurring.

Check out DOL monthly jobs report wage table B3 and B4 and note that the non rich are going nowhere under the CPI increases that Bush is putting out, and under real EU type CPI increases they are losing 5% in purchasing power every year.

every time 2 500 lb. bombs are dropped on a handful of arabs, the GDP goes up.

http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/truecosteconomics/

True cost economics
Adbusters traces many of the problems which exist in developed nations to the neo-classical economic system, which Adbusters believes leaves no room for morality. Adbusters supports the idea of true cost economics, which incorporates the environmental and human consequences of a product into its economic model. True cost economics involves taxing products that are perceived as being especially harmful to the environment or human welfare. In a culture which practices typical consumerism, consumers may be shielded from the costs of externalities such as trans-oceanic shipping, long-term environmental impact, or the lack of a living wage for the employees involved in creating the products. True Cost Economics taxes products in an attempt to accurately reflect all the hidden costs involved.