Growth of American assets abroad is invisible but important.
Growth in America is also far from uniform. My region is rocking along fairly well. Residential real estate is positive. Earlier this week I saw an excavator and dump trucks resuming work at a long stalled very large commercial/residential development. For that site to come out of mothballs is a very important indicator.
There are definitely some parts of the country that are benefiting by the flight of taxpayers and corporations from the Dem states (that is what you are experiencing); would you say your area is as well of as 4 years ago in terms of income, employment, etc.?
Here in NJ we have roads that haven’t been repaired since LAST winter, because the government is paying so much for the people that used to fix the roads until they retired 20 years ago; it is a gradual but noticeable decline, which is driving our younger professionals and companies to seek greener pastures.
And at the other end of the construction scale...I used to commute to work past a Chicago cement plant. The plant was supplied by regular unit trains of sand during the warm months. About 25-30 cars at a time, once or twice a week.
In 2008, the trains began shrinking, no more than twenty cars at the end of the season, and not even once a week.
In 2009, the plant was put into mothballs.
Just this past week, they put up a sign that the site’s up for sale. It’s probably not the most valuable location (no major intersection or other reasons to go there), but between zoning and the realities of urban property, it’s something they’d likely not be able to find again in the city.
I find it VERY telling that the company’s willing to give up a prime industrial site with ready rail access like that. Not only are they anticipating no call for the capacity, but they don’t anticipate needing it any time soon either.