A few years back, many were forecasting doom and gloom. The republic was in trouble, they said, because so many bad things were going on. The federal deficit was not just high, but at unheard of levels. Unemployment was skyrocketing. Gasoline was close to $4 per gallon. The stock market was tanking. Consumer confidence was almost zero. And manufacturing was close to zero.
Of course, all those things were true. So we complained. About the president. About the congress. About anything that had to do with government at all. Somehow, all these things were the fault of the government. People even put up billboards placing blame when the gas prices were hovering around $4. In some people’s minds, America was in its death throes. Life was horrible. It was all coming apart.
OK, so let's fast forward a few years. The federal deficit has been declining at unheard of rates. It’s still there, but it’s way lower than anyone thought it could be so quickly. It’s down to 2008 levels, and when adjusted for inflation, it’s similar to those in the early 2000’s. But somehow I haven’t heard too many people mention that.
Unemployment is down to just over half of what it was. No, it’s not all rosy, because a lot of those jobs added are low paying entry level jobs, and it’s still difficult for 20 somethings to find meaningful employment. But even that appears to be changing. Sure it could be better, but it’s way better than it was a few years back. Of course, when it was pushing 10%, it was constant “doom and gloom” headlines. Now, each time it drops, it’s just a footnote somewhere. Nobody really pays attention. Unemployment figures are so 2010.
Most surprising, we've all seen what is happening to gas prices. It seems like they drop a nickel every day, now pushing close to $2.00. Amazing. Everyone blamed government when it was $4. But I don’t see too many people crediting the government for $2. The argument can certainly be made that the government had nothing to do with the drop. But then of course, that implies the same thing goes for the previous rise. Hmmm..
Do I need to go on? Oh yes, the stock market has been hitting record highs, almost in a “ho hum” style. It has dropped a bit lately, mostly due to low oil prices. (I guess we can’t have it all.) And consumer confidence is at an eight year high. And just for good measure, factory output is higher than it’s been in 10 years.
And what’s amazing about all this economic good news is that a lot of the world is in economic turmoil. America seems insulated.
Yet, we’re still complaining. These were the things that were going to destroy us, but since that didn't pan out, now we’re complaining about other things. I’m not saying everything is wonderful, and I'm certainly not saying our government is wonderful. And we still do have some significant issues that are not good. So we complain about those. And I understand that.
But if we’re going to complain about the bad things, then we should cheer about the good things. Or at least that seems fair to me.
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