We’re planning on putting in a new kitchen. I think. I’ve got some pretty solid numbers on a complete gut and redo with some walls shifting, and I’m feeling ill. Maybe it’s better to just paint the cabinets and call it a day. We’re not going to start the kitchen until Jonah’s winter break is over in the middle of January, so I have plenty of time to obsess over the kitchen.

A contractor came last week to give us an estimate. As he measured the room, we did a little chit chat. I asked him how business was going. With a sheepish shrug, he said business has been booming since the election. He glanced over at me to see if I was going to throw him out of the house, and then kept measuring. He didn’t have to say it, but the message was implied — because business was so good, his prices were going to go up. Great.

So, can Trump take credit for this bounce in the economy and the stock market, or is this bounce part of the natural cycle of the economy that had already picked up during the Obama administration?