For a moment, forget all of the apocalyptic economic news out there.
Sure, things are seriously grim, but if you really look at it, the business pages are actually overflowing with bright spots. Consider the following list of really great economic news stories:
10. Prices for big-ticket items are being slashed. Take autos - dealerships are offering some very attractive prices to keep merchandise moving. It's a great time to be in the market for a new vehicle. The same goes for major appliances and household electronics, especially for those paying cash.
9. Employers are finding relief from labour shortages. There's nothing better for employers than seeing fat stacks of résumés from five-star applicants. For the past few years, stories swirled about the rarity and low quality of applicants. Now, there are more qualified, experienced job-seekers out there. And, yes, some employers are hiring.
8. Housing is becoming more affordable. This is especially true in places such as B.C. and Alberta, where the housing bubble is slowly deflating. For every unhappy seller, a buyer is smelling a good deal.
7. Construction labour and materials are affordable and attainable again. Big projects, such as those in the oil sands, were dealing with out-of-control cost overruns, making budgeting impossible. Many were postponed or cancelled. Now, costs are on their way down. Skilled trade workers are available again, which helps everyone from the massive project developer right down to the homeowner wanting to drywall a basement.
6. The Canadian dollar has fallen - morphine for the pain suffered by our exporters. Had the loonie still been at or above par with the greenback, the financial pain would be 20 per cent greater than it is now.
5. Gasoline prices have tumbled. Back in the first half of 2008, soaring pump prices were eating away at household spending and adding to the sticker price of everything from soup to nuts, through higher transportation costs. According to the ATB Financial Business Sentiments Index, 60 per cent of businesses in Alberta report that lower energy prices are either "somewhat" or "very" beneficial to their operations. Those prices give some breathing room to otherwise strapped budgets.
4. Federal taxes are likely to fall, at least in the short term. We aren't sure yet what those breaks will look like - perhaps personal income tax relief, or a temporary GST holiday - but any relief will be welcomed by Canadian families.
3. Those freeway interchanges and highway twinning projects may finally get done. The coming federal budget will probably include several billion dollars for infrastructure, part of the emergency stimulus program. Many of these projects are already long overdue and will enhance economic productivity in the long run.
2. Interest rates are low and falling. The Bank of Canada, the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks are tripping over themselves to lower rates. Of course, not every consumer is enjoying these - riskier customers still pay more to borrow. But back in the recession of the early 1980s, borrowers and mortgage-holders could only fantasize about today's rates. Even if you subtract the currently low rate of inflation, which gives the real interest rates, the borrowing cost for good credit customers is still relatively low.
1. Best of all: People in the 18-to-28 age group won't have five or six job offers on graduation. They'll have to prepare a proper résumé. They'll have to pound the pavement for a while. And they'll have to do some grunt work before they get the new BMW, the swank condo and the six weeks of vacation.
Falling gas prices, affordable homes, tax relief, better infrastructure, low interest rates and a big bucket of reality splashed in the face of Generation Y. Who says 2009 will be so bad?
The opinions are Mr. Hirsch's own.