By Mark Stapp, ASU W.P. Carey School of Business
There is a quote by author Kurt Vonnegut about hope and recovery that also describes the state of our local economy: “You were sick, but now you’re well again, and there’s work to do.”
How do we know if we are well again in the Phoenix area? Well, numbers tell part of the story. We gather statistics about the economy to tell us where we are and how we are doing. However, statistics are backward-looking. I experienced firsthand the economic rebound this month. I walked directly onto the middle of hope and promise on a Saturday — not once, but twice.
It was the first day that many Phoenix residents would consider summer, with temperatures topping out at about 109 degrees. Yet, the temperature did not bother the thousands of people, young and old, whom I encountered first in a small way at a tile business in Tempe. The showroom and yard were mobbed with people looking to upgrade their homes.
“Wow,” I thought, “Maybe things are improving.”
