THE WEEK IN REVIEW

For better or worse, Congress goes home for most of this month for their so-called August recess. But while lawmakers take a vacation, the cycle of significant, and largely disappointing, economic news continues – this week was a perfect example.

It all started late last week when Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ credit rating for the first time ever. The downgrade came on the heels of the long and contentious debt ceiling debate – which, by all accounts, was a major contributing factor to S&P’s unprecedented decision.

And in case anyone thought a downgrade wouldn’t matter, the Dow dropped 634 points in the first day of trading after the news. Following a rebound on Tuesday, the Dow fell another 520 points on Wednesday. And consistent with the roller-coaster week, yesterday it regained some of the week’s losses. These up and downs are a manifestation of the uncertainty gripping an economy that is showing weak and inconsistent growth.

Meanwhile, party leaders from both houses of Congress made their appointments to the “super-committee” formed by the debt ceiling deal and tasked with producing a plan to cut the nation’s long-term deficit by trillions. The members of the committee are Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). The panel is to present its deficit plan by November 23.

Other economic reports were mixed. While weekly jobless claims dropped to a four-month low, consumer confidence plunged to a three-decade low; a drop fueled by markets’ volatility and uncertainty over how Washington will address our economic woes.

As we explained yesterday, Washington doesn’t make decisions in a vacuum. Its actions, or lack thereof, impact the bottom-line of families across the country. The decisions they need to make aren’t easy, but they’re just that – necessary. We can only hope that a little time in their districts makes them realize that just as their constituents have had to cut back and spend responsibly during the economic contraction, Washington must do the same.