Economic activity is predicated on demand. As demand increases, certain macro indicators of economic activity will usually increase or decrease such as the employment or unemployment rate. So will micro indicators such as business sector prosperity. There are just too many variables associated with economic activity for we on this Board to even begin to address it intelligently with anecdotal information or, much less, to draw conclusions from it. So many of our postings seem to be a function of our political ideology. Some of those postings attempt correlations which are null, at best (afterall, everytime I wash my car, it rains. Obviously, one causes the other). Well, I have to admit that in an election year, it's fun.