Surveys find entrenched(根深蒂固的)pessimism over the country"s economic outlook and overall trajectory(轨道). In the latest Wall Street Journal poll, 63% of the respondents said the US is on the wrong track. It"s not difficult to see why. Set aside the gridlock in Washington for a moment and appreciate the weakness of the economic recovery: Households whose finances were too weak to spend. Large numbers of unemployed workers who couldn"t do so either. Younger Americans who couldn"t afford their own homes. Banks that were too broken to lend. Yet nearly a year ago, I wrote an essay for Time suggesting that the economy could surprise on the upside. That hypothesis looks even more valid today. Despite the pessimistic mood, America is experiencing a profound comeback. Yes, too many Americans are out of work and have been for far too long. And yes, there is a huge amount of slack to make up. In fact, if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the US GDP would be $ 1 trillion—or more than 5%—higher than it is today. But in terms of the growth outlook, the news is good. Goldman Sachs and many private-sector forecasters project a 3. 3% growth rate for the remainder of 2014. The first half of 2014 saw the best job-creation rate in 15 years. Total household wealth and private employment surpassed 2008 levels last year. Bank loans to businesses exceeded previous highs this year. And income growth will soon improve too. America is finally returning to where it was seven years ago. As halting as the US recovery has been, the economy is now leaner and more capable of health-y, sustained growth through 2016 and beyond. The US outlook shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and Japan are stagnant. The 2008 economic cr and Great Recession forced widespread restructuring throughout the US economy—not unlike a company gritting its teeth through a lifesaving bankruptcy. Manufacturing costs are down. The banking system has been recapitalized. The excess and abuse that defined the housing market are gone. And it"s all being turbocharged by an energy boom nobody saw coming. We learn from the last paragraph that______.