If you are one of the many who believes that uncertainty is stalling our recovery, you should be smiling. Much uncertainty has been replaced by a surer knowledge of what policy makers have in mind for the economy, and of the direction of some of the key economic indicators. If you are sure you love certainty, you might want to think again.

Start with the state of political play. President Obama used his rousing State of the Union speech to make four things clear. First, he knows that Obamacare is an albatross he will have to wear in his reelection swings through the country: It is so wildly unpopular that he hardly mentioned it in a speech that lasted over an hour, much less offered it as his signal accomplishment, which, for better or worse, it surely is. Second, he plans to propose a series of small spending initiatives on student loans, and mortgage relief, and larger ones on infrastructure. This is the “small ball” approach that Bill Clinton so successfully used in his reelection bid. Third, he will continue to call for higher taxes on the rich, with anyone earning more than $1 million per year paying at a 30 percent rate, and for higher taxes on the merely comfortable: families earning more than $250,000 per year. Class war to some, fairness to others.