Morning Joe economic analyst Steve Rattner returned to Morning Joe Thursday with his infamous charts. This time he was talking about the potential impact of the fiscal cliff on consumer confidence and something called the ‘uncertainty index.’
1. 
“I believe when businessmen tell me this has introduced uncertainty into their business and into their ability to hire and make decisions, I believe…this is serious.”
2. 
“When you look at the economy, what’s actually happening in the economy as a result of all this, you can start to see some signs within the business community that they are taking this seriously…Business investment spending declined in the last quarter by 1.3 percent. It’s really only the second decline since the recovery started.”
3. 
“The consumer seems to have a different view. For the consumer, so far, this has sort-of passed by in, I wouldn’t say blissful ignorance, but it’s not affected their behavior.”
