Last week I told you about a news article screaming doom over Washington State budget cuts – which turned out to be not cuts to any current budgets, but cuts in the increases the governor wanted over the next two years.

This morning I read a news article about shopping that was along the same lines. The headline said retailers put “little hope” in Monday sales and went on to talk about fewer shoppers on “Black Friday.” They’re expecting this to be “one of the weakest holiday seasons in years.”

But… as with the budget article, the truth came later in the article. According to a company that tracks sales, Friday and Saturday pulled only a 1.9% increase over last year’s sales.

I suppose this has something to do with expectations – we expect to have more and more and more each year. So when “more” isn’t big enough, we see less?

I don’t pretend to understand the intricate balance of the economy, but I do wish the media would tell the straight truth. And I do wish they’d understand that crying gloom and doom will not create prosperity – it will only create gloom and doom.

So… get out there today and grab that 1.9% with some effective marketing – People are spending more, not less, and they may not know they need your product unless you get busy with showing them.