8/8/2023 0 Comments Faith finance![]() ![]() As humans we’re hardwired to look for problems and get bogged down in analysis paralysis, believing that huge structural issues require equally huge solutions. Social change theorists talk about the value of positive deviants – or as Chip and Dan Heath call them, bright spots. Our economy is telling a story, but it is not one of impending doom. Plus, given that so many had to forfeit the holidays with friends and family last year, isn’t it really the gift of presence we’ll be cherishing most this year? Forty-five cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays in our community and turns over seven times before leaving the community. Meanwhile, this is an excellent time to shop our values by supporting local business. After an abrupt halt to global economic activity, production and shipping can’t be flipped back on like a switch, but they will catch up. ![]() As we head into the season of holiday shopping, demand is on the rise. Supply chain shortages, which are being framed as the Grinch that will steal Christmas, are in fact an indication that our economy is opening back up. Employees have choices and this will continue to lead to rising wages. Even after unemployment benefits have been stopped in many states, workers are refusing to return to jobs with low wages and instead are launching their own businesses and structuring their work/life balances in ways that work best for them, not their employers. More Americans than ever are taking control of their professional lives in what is being called the Great Resignation. But focusing on those indicators alone is like going on vacation to Hawaii and complaining about the long flight (and then reading headlines about how flights to Hawaii are longer than other destinations). Endless talk about inflation, rising gas prices and energy costs, and increases in the cost of food all paint a gloomy picture. It is easier for the media to reflect our fears and anxieties back to us than explain why they’re based on incomplete data. So why are so many Americans pessimistic about the economy? The simple answer: pessimism sells. history, which will lead to improved access to public transportation, expanding broadband to close the digital divide and provide high speed internet to every American, and repairs to crumbling roads and bridges. All this is not to mention that President Biden just signed one of the largest investments in our infrastructure in U.S. And, in the midst of a global pandemic, 11 million people were lifted out of poverty in 2020. ![]() ![]() Unemployment has fallen to an astonishing 4.6%, back down to pre-pandemic levels. Overall wages are up, increasing by as much as 11% in some sectors. Thanks to stimulus checks, unemployment insurance, and the Child Tax Credit, Americans have an average of 50% more money in their bank accounts than before the start of the pandemic. As we seek to evaluate the effectiveness of economic policies and decisions of our leaders, Reagan’s test is a valid one to apply: Are we better off now than we were 18 months ago? If we are using economic indicators to answer this question, for millions of Americans the answer would almost certainly be a resounding, “yes.” We are now living through an incredibly consequential time in US and global history, the outcome of which will be felt for years, if not decades to come. The question, and underlying message, was clear and direct: leaders and policies should be evaluated on whether they make our overall lives easier or harder. “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” This is the question Ronald Reagan infamously asked in his successful 1980 campaign against Jimmy Carter. ![]()
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