Can Americans regain their mojo? This month’s Gallup poll found only 19% of respondents satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. Satisfaction hit bottom at 7% during the Great Recession of 2008. It marched irregularly higher through the Obama and Trump years, peaking at 45% in 2020 just before COVID hit.

Here are a few wishes for 2025 that, if fulfilled, might make people more optimistic.

• For the economy: continued growth

• For wages: increases of inflation plus

• For prices: a rollback

• For the stock market: a three-peat of consecutive 20% gains

• For the Federal Reserve Board and Chairman Jay Powell: a soft-landing victory lap

• For tariffs on U.S. imports: bluster not action

• For green energy and the planet: carbon taxes

• For medical care: less bureaucracy, more treatment

• For prescription drug prices: a plan to make foreigners pay more so the U.S. can pay less

• For polio and other anti-vaxxers: a muzzle

• For housing: affordability

• For Bitcoin promoters: a Hall of Shame

• For Bitcoin owners: a copy of “Extraordinary Popular Delusions”

• For economic mercantilists: a copy of “The Wealth of Nations”

• For social media: non-inflammatory algorithms

• For Congress: a visit from Spenders Anonymous

• For all of us: a healthy and Happy New Year.

Jeffrey Scharf welcomes your comments. Contact him at jeffreyrscharf@gmail.com.