Mark Zandi: One economist who's expecting clear skies in another year - CSMonitor.com

Mark Zandi: One economist who's expecting clear skies in another year - CSMonitor.com: "“I firmly believe that once we get by the next six to 12 months we are going to get our groove back and we are going to be surprised at how well the economy is doing.”

Mr. Zandi is just one voice, but people do listen to him. He advised John McCain’s presidential campaign, for instance. Last year, The Wall Street Journal called him the “defacto chief economist to Congress.”

Here are some of his reasons for optimism:

The American household has its personal balance sheet in order. At least that’s true of the consuming public that does most of the buying – those above the median household income of $55,000.

He also says that eventually, demographics win. Right now, Americans are spending under their demographic needs. For instance, Zandi estimates they need 15.5 million cars a year – based on demographic changes such as kids going off to college and graduating to wheels of their own. But consumers are holding back, buying only 11 million. At some point, auto sales will “rocket higher.”

But expect America’s exports, not its consumers, to lead the way to a healthy economy, he says. Emerging markets such as Russia and Brazi"

Click on title link to read ENTIRE article it is encouraging!