This being a presidential election year, I’ve pulled my fishing waders off the shelf and have them ready at any point to wade through all the, well, “wastewater” that is bound to flow our way.

Over the next several months, the economy is going to be the focus of many a debate. Democrats are going to advance statistics and numbers that they maintain verify that the Joe Biden administration has done wonders for Americans. State Dems also are going to hitch their wagons to those same numbers, while at the same time promoting their efforts, like tax relief.

Meanwhile, the GOP, if they can pull themselves away from beating each other over the head, will question those numbers and point out that, if things are so good, then why are we paying so much for groceries and why can’t small businesses find enough workers to fill shifts?

It will be a constant deluge of “he said, she said,” ad nauseam.

Which is why I was a bit hesitant to add to the discussion this morning.

However, I always have found numbers regarding people moving in and out of states and gas prices pretty good barometers of a state’s economic health, and, thus, I’m going to share them with you.

Are they a perfect barometer? Of course not.

But it is fair to maintain, I think, that a considerable percentage of people moving are going to move to where the work is, or else retire someplace warmer.

That being said, U-Haul said that, in 2023, Michigan ranked 46th in the number of people moving into the state. Only New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California finished lower.

The top five destinations last year were Texas at number one, followed by Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

“While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president.

Meanwhile, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, an internet gas price app, believes 2024 should result in better gas prices for the country than we experienced in 2023.

Specifically, he predicted the national average price for gas will drop from $3.51 last year to $3.38 this year.

“Gas prices still could fall below a national average of $3 per gallon this winter before starting to rise in late-February, getting close to $4 per gallon as summer approaches, then mildly declining into summer, with hurricane season presenting uncertainty in late summer,” De Haan said.

He admits, though, that a number of factors, including the presidential election and unrest in the Middle East, could cause prices to fluctuate from his projections and, thus, upset his price model.

Gas prices in Alpena midweek this week ranged from $2.69 to $2.99 a gallon. The average price in Michigan this week was $2.94 a gallon.

So, how do you feel the economy is doing these days?

Ultimately, the best judge of the economy is you and how much money you have left in your wallet at the end of each pay period.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.