No matter where you stand politically right now, our economy and our public square look about as cheery as the gray winter yard outside my living room window. The pessimistic commentators that I visit online daily deliver dreary reports of inflation, rising crime, the breakdown of our supply chains, the failures of our schools, and a long list of other grim revelations.
Closer to home, my favorite coffee shop is running out of lids for their cups, the shelves at the liquor store are half-empty, steaks now cost as much as what I paid two years ago to fill the tank of my Honda Civic, and the war between Russia and Ukraine and the skyrocketing costs of gas are dominating our conversations like Uncle Billy Bob talking about sports at Thanksgiving.