On the way up: Today's good economic news could be sign of new direction

Truth is, Christmas is not really the best gauge of where an economy is heading. After all, when people have been down for so long, they tend to loosen up a bit when the holidays roll around.

But even with that caveat, the initial measurements of the state of economy suggest that perhaps Americans are either feeling better about their present or hoping for better in the future.

And if you look around Wayne County, you will see plenty of people out at the malls, enjoying dinner out or otherwise taking advantage of the festivities that accompany the holidays.

They are spending cautiously, but they are still spending.

So what does all this mean? It doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet, but what is striking about the news that Americans aren't holding back as much as analysts predicted this holiday season -- combined with their critical view of their leaders in Washington -- is that they seem to expect that a new direction will take hold -- and succeed.

Perhaps they are hoping that their message has gotten across to Congress and the president -- spend less, argue less and figure out how to make sure there are more people employed next year, and not in make-work government jobs.

Perhaps they are hoping for a post-Christmas miracle of good decisions and economic policies that make sense.

We will have to wait until 2012 to know for sure, but for now, let the cash registers ring.

Published in Editorials on December 22, 2011 10:39 AM