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For some reason it was hard to find news about December retail sales in the papers. The Census Department reported they were up a healthy 0.5 percent. Remember all those stories from worried economists that told us how the fiscal cliff was already taking a toll. They told us about plunging confidence levels and consumers who were putting off purchases because of uncertainty about the resolution of the standoff. 

Yes, some of us did ridicule the cliff mongers at the time. Consumers are used to the boys and girls in Washington getting silly. They will adjust their spending when they actually feel the impact in their paycheck.

Anyhow, some of us were right. Get out a heaping helping of ridicule for everyone else.