The Associated Press has done just that. The dictionary definition of plunge is "to descend abruptly or precipitously." If you had any doubt that some in the media are making the economic situation sound as dire as possible, consider the following headline:

Retail sales plunge 1.2 percent in September
Wednesday October 15, 8:42 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer

Honestly, given the economic challenges we face, I consider a 1.2% drop in consumer spending to be pretty impressive. Wouldn't a 5 or 10 percent drop have been understandable? I am not arguing the economy is in good shape (we are most likely in a recession right now), but let's choose words based on their actual definition, please.