Good economic news go under the radar
making it The most underappreciated story of the year.

• holiday sales increased 8.7 percent over last year. Sales of electronics were up 11 percent, and home furnishings were up 15 percent. Purchases exceeding $1,000 increased by 13 percent
• consumer confidence rose in December to its highest levels since before Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast
• The price of a gallon of gasoline declined to $2.18, down from $2.26 in November and well below the high of more than $3 in September
• Weekly jobless claims are back to their pre-Katrina levels, and workers were earning 3.2 percent more than in November 2004
• 215,000 new payroll jobs in November; 4.5 million payroll jobs added since May 2003
• fixed investment up 8.6 percent
• industrial production up 0.7 percent from October to November

Economically, 2005 is one of the best five years out of the past 25.

Larry Kudlow says,

Staying the course in Iraq, where victory on democratization and reconstruction is increasingly possible, withdrawing troops as the generals believe prudent, and maintaining tough security measures to guard the homeland (Patriot Act,etc.) is the right wartime prescription. The Dems have nothing but negativism and defeatism.

Large-scale budget cuts (including, for the first time, real cuts in porkbarrel spending, including corporate welfare) and permanent tax relief to sustain economic growth should be the message at home. Here the Dems have no policy except the tiresome mantra of tax hikes for the rich. The D's have no budget-cutting policy whatsoever. Nor are they capable of developing one.

Add to the mix ending all farm and trade subsidies, and we'll really be seeing prosperity here and abroad.