I don't know where you live, but that's not what I am seeing in WA State, where we are supposed to have the second highest unemployment rate in the country. The economy is booming, the malls are full and new houses are going up all over the place.
This is in a county where the environmentalists have killed off the top two employers in the county as well as decimated the fishing industry and logging. Somehow people are still finding jobs and spending money like crazy.
I'm in Toronto, and BC seems to be doing OK as well, although they traditionally have a much more left tack than most of the country, certainly the rest of the West.
I feel good about both our economies over the next couple of fiscal years. Unfortunately, employment increases, especially in this era of greater efficiencies driven by Enterprise Wide Systems in larger businesses, is not tracking up as quickly in this recovery as we would expect from past expereiences, is skewing the expectations of many. Still, I'm confident looking at the next two or three years. Hope it happens before Novemeber down there. A Kerry presidency would hurt both of our countries.