Huff Post on Bush "getting no credit whatsoever" for our "perking" economy

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

03.22.2006

David Sirota

Why the Media/Political Elites Are Shocked About Bush & the Economy...But No One Else Is

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/why-the-mediapolitical-e_b_17725.html

On ABC's "This Week" this past Sunday, Sam Donaldson made a comment that echoes a lot of what elite journalists say. "The economy does seem to be perking along," he said. Then he lamented that, "Things look pretty good economically at the moment, and the President is getting no credit for it whatsoever." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why Donaldson and other elite journalists/politicos think everything is just great -- because for them, it probably is. But for the rest of us, it really isn't.

Yes, many of the macro statistics like corporate profits and GDP growth are up. But right under the surface, things aren't fine. Wages are stagnating. Thousands are losing their pensions, and millions more are at risk of losing theirs. As outsourcing grows, so does job insecurity. And even the stats that the President always brags about are deceptive. Case in point is home ownership. The White House is always talking a great game about how home ownership is up. But right underneath that talking point is some very disturbing news. Check out what USA Today reports today:

"Nearly 70% of Americans own their homes, a record high, but the rate of homeownership for working families with children is lower than in 1978, according to a study being released Wednesday by the Center for Housing Policy...A key problem, says says Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, is that 'the labor market in our economy produces lots of low-wage jobs. There is an incredible disconnect between the housing market and the labor market.'"

So while Donaldson may be unable to understand why no one is giving Bush any credit for the supposedly wonderful economy, the answer is obvious: things may be great for those at the top, but they are bad and getting worse for everyone else.

[texpatriot2004]

1. This economy is the worst I have ever seen in my lifetime. nm

[MADem]

4. It reminds me of the Nixon - Carter era, in lots of ways

Remember Gerald Ford's lame exhortation to W.I.N!!!!! He handed out WIN buttons, as though a button would actually WHIP INFLATION NOW!!!



Well, that worked a treat, didn't it????

It feels very much the same to me, nowadays--the economy, the prices, the uncertainty, the job market. Deja friken vu all over again!

[texpatriot2004]

5. Exactly! nm

[Fridays Child]

2. Hey, Sam, out here in the real world, we have to choose between...

...filling our gas tanks so we can to get to work and sending our kids to school with decent food in their stomachs.

[MADem]

3. Wages are stagnating, and prices are going up, up, up

It isn't just the gas prices--those are obvious to all. It's also things like property taxes, beans at the grocery store, airline tickets...there's a 'quality of life' impact there that the wealthy just do not see. Every time you turn around, it's a few cents here, a few bucks there.

People aren't stupid. They know. They see how much comes in, and how much goes out.