Evaluation of the policies of George W. Bush and his Republican conservatives on America.
Why the Bush Economy is not working for the American Family!
Published on June 12, 2006 By COL Gene In Politics



I have been accused of not acknowledging the GOOD Economic news. That is not true! I have acknowledged as the Bush administration has been telling us that we have had strong GDP growth. There has been some increase in productivity. Many Corporate profits have been UP and until to about two weeks ago the Stock market was UP.

Bush and his supporters say they can not understand WHY the public is NOT HAPPY with the way Bush has handled the economy. It is NOT that the administration has not told us about all the above GOOD Economic News. A new face at Treasury will not change the public perception. The answer is quite SIMPLE! This GOOD economic news that Bush points to is about the Macro economy -The overall issues like GDP Growth and Profit increases.

The issue for the masses during the Bush presidency is that his policies have NOT impacted the factors that the masses see week to week as they try to pay their bills. Things like Average weekly wage -What they have to spend. The cost to get to work and heat their homes. The cost of Food and Health care. Interest and the higher credit card bills they receive each month that are increasing because of the higher interest rates and higher balances. Some are loosing their long standing jobs to other countries in Manufacturing and High Tec. They read about the fact that the American Auto makers are loosing money and closing plants. They see the textile industry all but disappear in America. They read about the growing trade deficit and how much of it is due to China. They see their president turn a deaf ear to American Job Loss and how unfair China is in trade and currency matters. The see how many illegal aliens come across the border and depress the wage rates paid to Americans while President Bush does NOTHING for the past 5 years! They see the cuts backs in health coverage and pension plans by employers. They see the soaring cost of college for their children with no more money to pay for the higher expenses and cuts backs in Federal College assistance. These are the Micro economics of the economy. These are the issues that the Bush economic and tax policies have not improved or have made worse for the average workers. That is why the vast majority in America are NOT experiencing the GOOD Economic News Bush tells them about!

Comments (Page 2)
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on Jun 13, 2006
Just gonna refute a few points here:

1. Soaring Credit Card Bills
This is not indicative of anything on its own. To get any real data worth using from this you need to look beyond the dollar amount on credit and take a look at spending habits. Are these people doing what most college-aged kids do now and spend WAY beyond their means thinking they can just pay it off eventually? Are they going into debt over necessities? Or is it that new car/tv/stereo that they just HAD to have? Average debt is only a piece to the puzzle of the average person's finances.

2. Loss of Benefits
This is an issue for companies, not the government. Show me where there is a law saying anyone has to provide benefit packages to their employees? Most companies do it as a means to retain good talent. If a company cuts its benefits programs, they risk losing talent. The government doesn't step in and demand they cut back. Not a government issue.

3. Health Care Costs
Actually, you'd be surprised at how much of the responsibility for skyrocketing costs in health care actually rests with the average consumer, and secondly with the doctors themselves. The HMO encouraged people to go to the doctor for every little thing, cause they'd never pay more than $15 or so for a visit. So right there, a lot of the cost had to be passed back from employers and insurers into the monthly costs to the worker. Then you have doctors who gold-plate their bills, cause the customer never sees it, so increased costs there have to be recovered too and again get passed back indirectly to the consumer. Consumer behavior plus a system that allowed abuse caused this problem, not the government. And again, there is currently no law saying health insurance is a right.
on Jun 13, 2006
Better look again. I document my claims.



No you don't col. You quote some survey without links and think that's the end of it. I remember somebody here debunked your Mayors conference once. I am trying to find that post now.

You have told more half-truths and distortions than you could ever claim against Bush.
on Jun 13, 2006
Zoomba

The issue is those elements that impact individuals and how the average American perceives the economy compared with what Bush has been telling everyone.

Personal Debt is at an all time high. In the early 1990's the average balance that individuals were carrying was in the $3,300 range. In December 2005 it was reported to be $8,600. That is s significant increase even after inflation since the early 1990's. The other issue is the Personal Savings rate which is all but non existent!

The loss of benefits is part of the pressure for jobs to leave this country and the ever increasing push to increase company profits by cutting costs. The point is that this is impacting the American family and the point I made is that the new jobs that Bush brags about are providing not only lower wages but less benefits which puts more financial pressure on the average person.

I agree with the reasons you have mentioned for Health Care costs increasing but here again the issue are things that are adversely impacting the average worker. Their wages are NOT going up to offset the higher health costs and there is no effective policy to help restrain those increasing costs. The action that Bush has taken is to cut Federal money for Medicaid which just puts the pressure on the states it does not deal with the reasons why health costs are increasing. The same thing is true in Medicare. Reimbursements to doctors and hospitals are not even equal to inflation much less the higher medical inflation! In addition the addition of the prescription drug plan with NO FUNDING is a time Bomb!

All these economic issues are WHY most Americans are not happy with the way Bush has managed the economy. The ONLY group that is doing better are the wealthy and almost everyone else is not is good shape. The result of the Bush tax cuts is a that a greater percent of the total taxes are now being paid by the middle income workers then before the tax cuts!!
on Jun 13, 2006
I provide the sources and you ignore them. I gave you the E-Mail from BLS and you told me I distorted the Average Weekly Wage Data. I gave the study that showed the new jobs being created pay less with fewer benefits and you ignore it. That Links thing is just an excuse when you do not want to look at the facts! When I copy articles you tell me they are part of the liberal agenda no matter what the source. When I provide exert opinion you discount the opinion even when the people I sight are the MOST knowledgeable on the subject!

You are just like Bush—Do Not bother me with the facts just tell me what I want to hear!
on Jun 13, 2006
And col we have both showed you how income has risen. We have debunked many of your "facts" and you still won't acknowlegde it.


You are just like Bush—Do Not bother me with the facts just tell me what I want to hear!


What a load of bs. How many facts have you ignored that we post to you? I see you completely ignored the post that showed your lovely Zinni is affiliated with far left organizations. I see you completely ignore anything that is posted that is good about the economy or Iraq.

Every post you make here is an exact image of typical DNC talking points. You claim Americans are this and that, but you don't know anything about the "average" American.
on Jun 14, 2006
IslandDog

Income has increased but AFTER inflation the data from BLS clearly shows those increases have not offset the inflation during the past two years and Average Weekly Wage is the SAME as 5 years ago after adjusting for inflation! I have DEBUNKED your BS! I should say BLS has DEBUNKED your BS!

If there is a group that does not know or care about what the majority of Americans want it is GWB and the GOP leadership in Congress!
on Jun 14, 2006
The Financial Page today continues the GREAT news about the Bush economic Bust – sorry I mean boom.

The Dow dropped another 86 points

Wholesale prices are up in May

Shopping in down

That was on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

On page 3 is an article by the new Fed Chairman who admits lower-income families are in trouble. (AP Article for those that need a source). The plight of the lower-income families and the continued pressure on the middle income families with the drop in Average Weekly Wage after inflation during the past two years leaves ONLY the wealthy cheering about this GREAT Bush economic growth. I guess the Polls are correct- Most Americans DO NOT approve of the way Bush has handled the economy!!!!!
on Jun 14, 2006
The Dow dropped another 86 points


Wow col. 86 points. The world is soon to end because of Bush.


Why don't you start linking these articles. You are famous for leaving things out of your quotes.
on Jun 14, 2006
You have still failed to say how personal debt increases is the fault of the government, or an indicator of a faltering economy. To me, from what I observe on a daily basis it's an issue of irresponsible spending and money management on the part of the individual. People go miles into debt because they want a fancier car (want, not need... and I hardly consider a BMW a necessity item). Today, when someone wants a new widget (car, house, TV, whatever) Instead of doing what our parents did in decades past and save up, making sacrifices in other areas to get the money together and waiting until they could afford to purchase it, we go out and just toss it on our AmEx with the intention of paying it later when we actually have the money.

I currently have about $6,000 in debt. This was entirely my own fault through stupid spending. The economy had nothing to do with it. It is not the responsibility of the government, economy, or even my employer to try and keep up with me when I go on a shopping spree. It is my responsibility to live within the means I have.

Again, credit debt is only relevant if it is being used to purchase necessities, otherwise it just shows personal irresponsibility.

Yet... despite my debt, despite my salary, and despite the fact that I live in the most over-taxed state in the nation (CT), I am not that bad off. No, I'm not in great shape, but I'm only 3 years out of college so I can't expect that much. I'm on track for doing much better once I get my debt taken care of. Not a single one of my friends who graduated within 2 years of me is in a bad spot either. They're mostly in IT too, which supposedly is all going overseas (it's not... the stuff you see in the media is largely ignorant fear mongering). We're all young, many with school debt, in an industry that is supposedly in the process of dieing. We're all doing OK. And we come from all walks of life too, from various financial backgrounds and from different cultures. We're about as average a group of Americans as you're likely to come across.
on Jun 14, 2006
IslandDog

I gave you the sources ThePhiladelphia Inquirer Finacial Page and the AP. The 86 points brings the month down about 1,000. That is a BIG DEAL!

Dow gives up 2006 gains
Commodities' slide linked to stocks' fall

Bill Barnhart
Published June 14, 2006

Tuesday was another shake-and-bake day on Wall Street.

After at least seven moves into the plus column during the session, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up and closed down 86.44 points, to 10,706.14, wiping out its gains for 2006.

The stock market, like the commodities futures market, is reversing the sudden and inexplicable rally in hard assets that began in March.

Evidence of the commodity rout is not hard to find. The price of gold futures has plunged more than 20 percent in a month, as the precious metal Tuesday sank $44.50 an ounce, to $566.80, for August delivery. The 7.3 percent drop was the biggest single-day meltdown for gold in 15 years, according to Bloomberg News.

Copper futures, considered a play on economic growth in Asia, have lost 24 percent since peaking in late May. Silver, a favorite of many individual commodity gamblers, is off 35 percent from its mid-May peak.

Energy- and materials-related equities, like energy and materials commodity futures, were big winners in 2006 until early May.

At that point, commodity speculators realized the Federal Reserve, as well as central banks around the world, planned to continue tightening interest rates, boosting the cost of the loans they were taking out to bet on commodities.

What does the commodity tumble have to do with the stock market? Everything. The unraveling of this spring's commodity price gamble likely will discourage millions of ordinary investors who have never held a commodity futures contract.

The two biggest losers in the 30-stock Dow since the peak on May 10 have been aluminum producer Alcoa and mining equipment-maker Caterpillar.

Caterpillar was the Dow's biggest 2006 gainer in those heady days two months ago when pundits were looking forward to a record high for the Dow. Alcoa was the fifth-best performer in the Dow until the lights went out.

In the world of small-company stocks, materials producers led the 2006 small-cap rally, which peaked on May 5. Companies such as steelmaker Wheeling-Pittsburgh and Titanium Metals more than doubled between January and mid-May.

The hard patch in the markets, a bout of exuberance driven by investor lust for hard assets, might be ending.

But the effects linger, as the run-up in energy and materials prices feeds its way into a broad array of goods and services. Labor costs, the biggest single contributor to consumer prices, appear under control. The pace of hiring and wage increases remains modest.

But investors and Federal Reserve officials alike must consider whether this spring's speculative bubble in hard assets represents serious inflation pressure in the broad economy, and whether attacking those pressures with higher interest rates will kill the patient to cure the disease.

Tuesday's report on wholesale price inflation appeared to indicate signs of a pass-through on materials costs. For example, one of the surprises in the report was higher prices for heavy trucks, which contain metal. Food prices, on the other hand, fell.

Wednesday's report on consumer price inflation in May should provide some clues, as well. Gasoline prices probably were the major factor in consumer price inflation last month.

----------

bbarnhart@tribune.com
on Jun 14, 2006
I gave you the sources ThePhiladelphia Inquirer Finacial Page and the AP. The 86 points brings the month down about 1,000. That is a BIG DEAL!


Why wasn't it a "big deal" when it was at record highs. I recall you avoiding those posts back then.

Thanks for the update col gloom and doom.
on Jun 14, 2006
It is your leader's gloom and doom. I do not make the news!
on Jun 14, 2006
Study: Slow Job Growth in Tech Sector
Elizabeth M. Gillespie (AP Business Writer)
From Associated Press
June 14, 2006 5:41 PM EDT

SEATTLE - Job growth in the nation's information technology industry has been weaker than some industry leaders have claimed, according to a new report.

From March 2004, about two months before the industry began to recover, to February 2006, the high-tech sector has added roughly 88,600 jobs - less than one-quarter of the roughly 400,000 jobs lost during the three previous years, the report said.
on Jun 14, 2006
It is your leader's gloom and doom. I do not make the news!


No col, you just highlight what you want. You can post all the articles you want, but you are just a hypocrit because you won't post in any other thread that shows the opposite.

You blindly blame Bush without anything backing it up. What a sad individual.
on Jun 15, 2006
I have admitted that GDP and corporate profits are UP. I have also pointed out that only the wealthy are truly doing better in this economy!
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