Why can't we just forget about the economy?

With all the talk about the economy going down the tubes these days, it is no wonder we're headed for a recession. Granted, the housing market and high oil prices certainly aren't helping anything. BUT, if the media didn't hype everything up so much, maybe people wouldn't get so scared and stop spending their money. Which, in turn (theoretically anyway), might help ease the pain of slowing growth.

The business cycle is a fact of a national economy. Unfortunately the majority of Americans haven't taken an economic class to actually realize that.