A greatly weakened other party which is just about out of political capital. All the lies that got them this far just are no longer going to fly. You don't take into account public opinion which is what the other party needs to function. Bottom line...if you believe that the far-left has mostly shot their wad, you will be fairly optimistic at this point and will see that if Obama gives on his tax-cut pledge it shows he is pretty much out of capital as far as manipulating public opinion. But if you believe that what the Dems say still resonates as much with the public you will be pessimistic.
You don't take into account good feelings. However, good feelings are important when you're talking about public consumption and factually DO lead to people opening their wallets. For robotic investors who only spend when dry facts lead, they will also have plenty of reason to see that hiring makes better sense now than it did a year ago.
You don't take into account good feelings. However, good feelings are important when you're talking about public consumption and factually DO lead to people opening their wallets.Even for those without jobs or uncertain about whether they will have a job? What about their feelings? Say I accept your theory, I would still insist that until the structural problems occasioned by, or that caused the crisis, are resolved, there will be few good feelings to go around. People are not going to spend or, worse, run up their credit card bills again, just because Republicans are in office. If they're smart they're going to pay down their debts, spend as little as possible, and perhaps invest in commodities as a hedge against inflation if they have any surplus at all.