The way I see it, there are only two explanations for the incredible divergence we've seen in recent years. Either 1) the payroll data or sentiment readings are highly suspect (as to which is more likely, I would note that only the former is compiled by the U.S. government); or, 2) the quality of the jobs that many people have nowadays is significantly less than it was before the recession "ended."

On a separate note, sentiment isn't exactly great among those who should be enthralled by the relentless, Fed-driven rise in stock and other financial asset prices.

"Wealthy Investors Are More Worried About Economy Than One Year Ago"

The prolonged economic downturn has become the top worry for most wealthy investors, according to new research report released Tuesday by Chicago-based financial research firm The Spectrem Group.

An estimated 80 percent of millionaire investors surveyed cited the sluggish first-quarter economy [Editor's note: Wait, what? I thought Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the economy is getting stronger?] as a concern compared with 70 percent in the same period in 2011. Similarly, an estimated 81 percent of mass affluent investors with net worths between $100,000 and $1 million were concerned about this year's first-quarter economic performance compared with 74 percent last year.

Michael J. Panzner