Meanwhile, don't tell the libs: Have a look at the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) numbers. Wow. ~Dope1

Yeah, Wow, from the report...

"Economic policies coming out of Washington continue to weigh on business conditions. Customers are unwilling to make commitments to anything other than the shortest term due to the vast uncertainty. Canadian tariffs continue to damage small U.S. businesses selling into that important market.'

"Inflationary pressures and volatile commodity markets continue to create challenging scenarios and unfavorable impact to purchase price variance. Diesel rates and the trucker shortage are impacting costs beyond the raw material inputs to levels I have never seen."

"Material shortages abound. Fuel remains high. Uncertainty remains constant. Though not a presidential election, the election-year dynamic has begun to take hold a bit. Canadian tariffs continue to have a negative impact on steel."

"Global demand for capital scientific instrumentation assets has slowed due to continued uncertainty in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and China. Anticipation over the midterm elections and impact to funding for scientific research and the National Institutes of Health also is impacting customers’ purchasing behavior, making them focus on optimizing existing technology and tools."

With 2.5 Trillion in annual stimulus (deficit) spending you would expect much better economic growth.