Upbeat

A surprising poll was reported by the BBC:

Iraqis and Afghans are among the most optimistic people in the world when it comes to their economic future, a new survey for the BBC suggests.

And if it's from the BBC, it's got to be true, right?

In Afghanistan, 70% say their own circumstances are improving, and 57% believe that the country overall is on the way up.

In Iraq, 65% believe their personal life is getting better, and 56% are upbeat about the country's economy.

Very interesting.

Who else is upbeat? Anyone who recently elected a more conservative leader, such as Germany, Canada, and the rest of the Anglosphere.

Not surprisingly, among the most pessimistic are tsunami-ravaged Indonesia and brutally mismanaged Zimbabwe and Congo.

But just as downbeat as those failed African states are such places as France, unfortunately. Socialism saps the soul.

Perhaps surprisingly, the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo has similar numbers of pessimists to prosperous Italy and South Korea, where nearly 80% worry about their nation's economy and between 53 and 63% believe their own financial future will be difficult.

Indonesians, meanwhile, still feel the economic aftermath of the devastating tsunami a year ago.

And while France appears to sink in gloom, Germans seem to believe that their economy is turning the corner.

They should de-Carterify and Reaganize themselves!