Did you happen to see that really interesting article that was circulating around most of the online news networks last week about how consumer happiness is at an all-time high as of the beginning of 2007? I didn't exactly understand what they were getting at or trying to say until I looked into the article a little bit deeper and tried to read in between the lines. Apparently, the powers that be survey the American public at the beginning of each year to try and wage their happiness about certain aspects of life, including healthcare, economics, and the like. It appears that life has started out pretty nicely in 2007 for a lot of American consumers owing to a few particular things that have happened recently.

Number one on the list of things that have made consumers happy has been the decrease in the price of gasoline through the last several months of 2006. This has helped to ease up on the wallets of consumers all over the country, allowing for easier personal travel, better commutes, and even decreased airfare prices in some cases. For the many Americans who are forced to do the daily commute, I can imagine that they are pleased as punch as this current trend. I'll bet that even some of the automobile companies, particuarly those who specialize in larger vehicles and SUVs are loving the decrease in gasoline prices, so that Americans will once again have an increased interest in purchasing such vehicles.

It also appears that Americans are generally pleased about the positive surges that have abounded in the various stock indices over the past several months. With these and other such positive economic indicators on the rise, American consumers have been more likely to invest their money since a positive return is becoming a strongly possibility more quickly. What do these investments do?...they just serve to kick stocks and economic indicators even higher into the positive. I, of course, don't really understand a lot of the ins and outs of the stock game and the US economy, but I'm sure that the successes that American stock indices are seeing in recent times is a lot more complicated than most of us can understand, so I'm not going to belabor the point...just be happy that things are working in favor of John and Jane Smith.

Something else that has made the American consumer emerge with a smile on his face has been the rising value of the US dollar, something that we haven't seen in quite a long time. I remember back in the days when the US dollar was valued higher than the Euro on the international markets. By the time that I actually made it to Europe to travel last year, it had been a long time since the dollar had topped the Euro. Hopefully the dollar is well on its way to rebounding up to its former weight and value, which will make a lot of Americans at home and abroad beam with some increased national pride.

So what about you all? As American consumers, do you feel happier this year as compared to years past? If so, why do you think that is? Sure, you can probably relate to several of the items that I've just talked about in my post, but are there other things more specific to your region, area, city, or town that have helped to build American consumer happiness? The that I ask is that I severely doubt that whoever these survey makers are are venturing out in "real" America to find out what the small town consumers are feeling. Ultimately, it's small town America that ends up having the power to swing the economy one way or the other. After all, farming and small businesses can a tremendous weight in the success of this country. So, if you have something that you think should be added to our list or even something that you'd like others to think about, feel free to leave me some comments and let me know. I've been so glad to see people starting to leave comments. If you prefer to be a little bit more private about your questions, you can always email me at chris@biblekeeper.com with questions or comments.