Lost in the shuffle of all of the "Trump sucks" stories that dominate the national media is a report about strong Christmas season sales, another indicator that the economy is on fire. It is also an indicator that consumer confidence about the economy in the new year is high despite media predictions of a looming recession.

Even with the partial government shutdown and the sleigh ride on Wall Street, shoppers rushed to the stores and their computer terminals and drove up Christmas sales by more than five percent, the biggest increase in years. Even struggling brick and mortar retail stores saw an increase of more than three percent. That's huuuuge!

Even with the economy flaming, we are hearing reports in the media about a recession next year. This is intentional. These reports will increase in frequency until the media convinces enough people that the sky is falling and they stop spending money. The quickest way to cool down the economy is to convince people to hang on to their cash.

Now why would the media want to tank the economy? It's the only way they can get rid of Trump in 2020.

The American people have gotten savvier in recent years and have learned to distrust a lot of what they hear and read in the national media. As a result, the media has lost a lot of its control and influence over people.

Let's prove the media wrong again and keep the economy humming. If for no other reason than it is fun to watch their heads explode!

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. 

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