Media Influence on Economy

While I should be thinking about what to do with my Friday night, I'm actually thinking constantly about money. The media has been forcing America into an economy scare: Wall Street is rising, Wall Street is falling, back and forth. But is it really as bad as they make it sound?

Half of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts saw evidence the U.S. economy had improved by the end of August, although labor markets remained weak and retail sales were flat.
Reuters

So supposedly the economy is rising and falling at the same time. One moment people will be buying houses all over the valley, the next moment another company will be forced into foreclosure. Apparently, it all depends on what kind of person you are. For example, if you make quite a bit of money and know how to manage and  keep a business safe, odds are good you won't have to worry about unemployment. It also probably depends on what you spend your money on. My brother was entering high school this year, and originally he was planning on going to Judge. My parents tried as hard as they could to be able to give him the same opportunity I had. We had to give up going out to dinner, taking vacations, and my poor parents hadn't been to the liquor store in two months. We also had to buy the cheapest clothes we could find, and when we found a tumor on my dogs foot, we couldn't even afford to take her to the vet. That's when we decided my brother would just have to attend public school. All of a sudden we caught up on our funds, and everything returned to normal. So is it the economy that's bad? Or is the media tricking us into thinking that no matter what we do, eventually we will lose control?