The rich. They scared.

Even the elite members of our plutocracry are feeling pinched these days.

Unfortunately, the plutocrats aren't very optimistic. The Spectrem Group,which devotes itself to studying the attitudes, desires, and trevails of the upper crust, reports that its monthly Spectrem Affluent Investor Index(TM) (which measures the investment outlook of households with $500,000 or more in inevstable assets) "fell 6 points in August to a reading of -1, the lowest level since its inception, on surging concern about higher oil and gas prices."

Said Spectrem President George Walper: "Higher oil and gas prices have finally taken their toll on affluent investors, driving their investment optimism to the lowest level since we began tracking it in February 2004. Nearly half of all affluent investors cited rising energy prices as their No. 1 news-driven concern, far outpacing even the Iraq War."