SAMANTHA TROUP | senior staff writer

Contrary to recent fears over the past year, the US economy may be looking up.

History has been kind to the US. This young country has gone from being an English colony, to fighting a revolution against what was the most powerful country in the world, to being one of the most powerful countries in the world.

All of this is invariably displayed through a foreign and domestic fascination with many things “American,” including our money, a symbol that has come to represent our power and decadence. And while we have undergone some significant financial downturns as a country, we have worked to come out on top every time.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the state of the economy and the direction it is taking, whether it will be growing or going into a recession. While the unemployment talk is nothing new, the unemployment rate remains stable at five percent, suggesting that the chances of going into a recession are becoming less and less unlikely.

Less than a minute into Jay- Z’s recent Blue Magic video, there is a stack of Euros’ flipping across the screen. However, this seems to bemore of a political choice than an economic one after looking at recent exchange rates.

The song also talks about hislife as a ‘drug dealer’ and other alternative lifestyle habits that Jay- Z claims, so I do not think Jay- Z is a reliable source of any kind, particularly when it comes to the state of the American economy.

Still, the ongoing debate about whether the U.S. is in a recession is fueled, for some, by Jay-Z’s monetary choices. However, financial analysts have been arguing for some time about key economic indicators and whether or not a recession is actually in the cards.

“There are a number of issues that impact, not so much what direction we go, so much as the pace that we go into one of those things,” associate professor and director of the Young Executive MBA program Stephen Strombeck said. “And an election year is when politicians typically try and do things that make them look good so they get re- elected, which probably means that this year if things are moving down they won’t dive as quickly as they could.”

In December, worries about a possible recession increased as the unemployment rate jumped, making the unemployment level a .5 percent higher than the economic expansion low.

This number worried many financial advisors, suggesting that there might be a recession on the way. As the industrial production, a closely watched recession gauge, did not contract, many financial analysts began to second guess a recession.

In the past four months the American dollar has been steadily increasing in strength. Conversely, the Euro’s value has decreased approximately 30 percent in the last year, a reflection of people’s confidence in the US dollar and economy.

“A strong dollar is clearly in our nation’s interest,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said about the Bipartisan Economic Growth Agreement.

This agreement is an immense potential $150 billion financial stimulus package aimed at boosting consumer spending that could help the American dollar continue to grow in its conversion rates, and help prevent a recession. The stimulus package, a temporary plan of tax rebates and business investment tax breaks, should help rebuild a strong dollar.

“I believe our economy is going to continue to grow, and I believe our fundamental long- term strength is going to be reflected in the currency markets,” Paulson said.

The stabilization of the economy and the steady growth of the U.S. dollar will continue as long we do not jump the gun and sell off massive stock options that infuse more money into the economy.

The increase in last year’s fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also reflects what looks to be an economy that is ready to grow, increasing an estimated 1.1 percent from the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Psychological theories suggest that enough talk about a recession can cause one, making it clear that talk about the growing economy would probably be more productive and beneficial. After looking at the potential economic stabilization plan it would, quite frankly, surprise me if the US economy swung anymore toward a recession.