Economists are more optimistic about the recovery than they were just a few months ago, significantly upgrading their forecasts for 2011 as consumers open their wallets.
When asked to predict, nine of 10 economists said they’re more optimistic than three months ago, according to a USA TODAY survey of 46 economists conducted Jan. 13-19.
They expect the economy to grow at an annual rate of 3.2% to 3.4% each quarter this year. That’s up from quarterly median forecasts of 2.5% to 3.3% in an October survey.
“This growth is now becoming self-reinforcing,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Businesses are going to take their stronger sales and begin to hire more aggressively, generate more income, and we’re off and running.”
Who, in these 46 economist’s households, pays for the gasoline in their cars? Do they shop for groceries? Are they even on this planet?
Blue, that’s supply and demand. There’s less oil and more people wanting it. And more people want our commodities.
But there are more people being hired, and that’s a good thing!
From what I can see consumers have less, not more to spend, and will for the forseeable future. That’s the monkey wrench to the demand side of the equation.