Well said.  The real question is whether that acceleration is the result of increased ability to buy -- from (say) higher productivity and the resulting lower (real) prices -- or simply shifting one's buying habits from one period to another, as in the case of higher borrowing due to low interest rates, which we, of course, talk about quite often here with regard to the current state of the US economy.  That's what I think we're really getting at, or at least what we should be getting at, in discussions on the health of the economy.

That's not to say that borrowing on low rates is necessarily bad.  Managed properly, it can be perfectly intelligent to take advantage of that situation.  It can also, of course, become a catastrophic mistake.  That's all according to how people behave.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.