They're cautiously optimistic.

Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve may have its monthly Beige Book summarizing what’s going on around the country. I have my Hooters calendar girls. Some background: Most of the Hooters calendar girls attend college, as do many of the chain’s other waitresses at restaurants across the country. They work at Hooters to pay their bills. Morgan “Miss December” Meyer, from Kansas City, Mo., says the economy “seems to be going up based on income and people coming in to eat and leaving tips and going shopping. I have noticed that things are getting better. Whether that will stay, I obviously don’t know.”

Said Sarah “Miss July” Hinton: “I’m from Lansing, Mich., so you can imagine.” She was talking about the economy back home and said that many of her college friends who have already graduated have left the state for bartending jobs elsewhere. But there’s hope. “I think this past year has been a little better,” she says. The worst time was two years ago. “There were a lot of people scared and tight with their money. I have noticed in the past six months that people seem to be a little more generous [with tips at Hooters]. Happier.”

Having said that, cover girl Lindsay Way of Fort Lauderdale has a less rosy outlook. “I think a lot needs to be done," she said. "But I don’t see anything happening soon. [Washington] can spend or not spend. We will still feel this.”

Wings And A Prayer: The Hooter's Economic Report [NYP]