This week we asked for your take on our future prospects. Do you think we are heading in a better or worse direction for 2023? And what are your indicators? Many respondents used economic projections to back up their views. Others shared more dystopian outlooks. One writer invited me down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. I declined. And a few, like me, were more optimistic, even if the next few years are hard. Here’s a sampling of responses, edited for length and clarity.

Economic stagnation, at best, a recession likely. Populists and progressives animating their respective parties leading to ongoing gridlock. China's economic woes leading to unrest within China and China's diminishment in projecting world power. Russia's economic implosion leading to chaos within Russia. -Sheldon Kay

I am very cautiously optimistic for 2023 and hopeful that the positive signs I see after that become reality with accelerating improvement. There is a very real threat to our continued existence primarily due to the excessive demands we make on the carrying capacity of this planet. Our experience with Covid showed we can respond quickly and effectively but that response was undermined by fear and greed. Our response to climate change is finally approaching a level that may save us from the worst outcomes but that remains very much in doubt. The introduction of renewable energy technologies has finally reached a level that is having a real market impact and we are near the inflection point that signals exponential increase due to the competitive advantage that renewables have over fossil fuels. Survival is possible but by no means assured. -Joe Bachofen

Racism, xenophobia, gun fanatics, anti-education, climate denial and the idea that America should be the world's purveyor of democracy have been festering problems for 50 or more years. My predictions are that 1) each of the problems I mentioned previously will continue to get worse; 2) politicians will continue to promote and support a system of government based on money and driven by an overwhelming desire to be reelected; 3) more and more people will be turned off by politics as they will see the government as not "of the people or by the people" but by people who do not identify with the common person; 4) leaders will emerge who (unlike Trump) will actually try to organize to make real changes; 5) at some point Americans will see that we are facing common problems that we need to deal with together. -John Persico

Here are my main hopes for 2023. I think we and the media will continue to focus on negative aspects of our situation (e.g., near deadlock in Congress and a continuation of negative campaigning and mutual dislike, including sometimes outright hate expressed and occasionally practiced between polar opposites). Indicators would be 1) occasional outbreaks of reporting on positive things that have always been present among our peoples of the nation and world; 2) people deciding that they can self tithe their incomes in some ways that make themselves feel better about sharing what little or massive amount of wealth they have attained; self-tithing would show decreases in the rate of expansion of the gaps in income and wealth between the bottom 25 percent and the top 25 percent and the bottom 5 percent and the top 0.1 percent; 3) each of us share our education and resources and money with others in ways we personally deem important and help those in our national and international families of humans find basic happiness more often than we are now. -Joe Healy

It's hard to make plans when you have to take into account the rights available to you where you live, where you might move and what that means for your quality of life. 2023 will be a plateau year for me as several things were completed this year, despite the world situation. I will be planning how to move forward from them to the next step. Some are work (I am at NASA and the SLS rocket was one of my projects. Yay! It LAUNCHED! *grin*), and some are personal (I would like to build a house). I can see far enough ahead to believe that I will grow from these things. I cannot see close enough to know how this next year will impact those plans. I am scared that someone will decide they know my needs better than me and try to force me, via policy or social pressures, into something I don't want and don't need. But I have to face that if it happens, and work like I am still fully free. -Karen Murphy

The United States’ founding principles are/were based upon local control, enforcing liberty and freedom; not democracy, capitalism and special-interests seeking the strength and force of government to sway civil society. We haven't gotten it right yet but, I’m looking forward to continuing to move functionally further down a mostly correct path. Homosapiens fallibility works hard to sway and slow progress. We all must think deeply, and ponder our true underlying motivations and own up to our genuine intentions. -John “Ric” Curtis

We have studied the economy with great interest and it seems that with every new projection of 2023 we have considered a new twist of politics and economics occurs. No doubt 2023 appears as a time of recession, yet we still see economic upticks. The successive increases in interest rates suggest that the Fed fears inflation or a growing economy. But we consider inflation a sign of prosperity and much to be desired rather than deflation or recession. Deflation reflects a downturn, the last thing we need. No doubt President Joe Biden has been a source of stability with calm resolve. We have been confused by his low job ratings because he has been stable and has introduced many positive economic enhancements. What our nation needs is stability and wise policy decisions. Neither Republican candidates provide much hope for progress. We see that more new and progressive policies have been implemented in the last three years than in many decades. Stability and progress is what America continues to enjoy and need for the future in 2023. -Ben Boothe Sr.

I was in my youth more optimistic than I am today. With age the disappointments pile up, and youth's enthusiasm about democracy becomes frustration. I am not very hopeful about good outcomes either for our own governance or for international relations, either in 2023 or for the longer haul. No international leaders, except perhaps United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have been willing to slow their economies to reduce consumption, manufacture and transportation, which are needed to slow or reverse global warming. Global warming will thus accelerate and leave us all eventually with no good solutions, leading to migrations, wars and disease. -Paul Hillibo

President Joe Biden reflected on the past year in an op-ed written for Yahoo News.

Americans have been through a tough few years, but I am optimistic about our country’s economic prospects. Americans’ resilience has helped us recover from the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, families are finally getting more breathing room, and my economic plan is making the United States a powerhouse for innovation and manufacturing once again.

Read the full article here: https://news.yahoo.com/opinion-end-of-year-op-ed-f...