Houston doesn't have a problem

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Across most of the nation, Americans are wincing at soaring gasoline prices, struggling with rising food costs, worrying over collapsing real estate values and staring into the abyss of a looming recession.

Here in Houston, Maserati sales are up 86 percent so far this year, according to the TexAuto Facts Report.

Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent are expanding their luxury stores at the Galleria shopping mall. New construction permits in the city have jumped by almost 30 percent. The region added more than 100,000 jobs last year. And the mayor just proposed a dream budget for next year featuring more cops and lower property taxes.

The city's rather bland official slogan is "Opportunity Houston: All the world in one region."

The Washington Post also has a rather positive article on Houston.