Bush Administration Kills the (Economic) Messenger (update)

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/21/bush-administration-kills-the-economic-messenger/

by Tula Connell, Feb 21, 2008

UPDATE: The Bush administration now has agreed to keep the Economic Indicators site open free of charge, following public opposition generated by blogs and news reports. Sen. Charles Schuumer (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez urging him to keep the site open, the Center for America Progress reports today. According to the site, ”given the feedback ESA received, the decision has been made to continue the site and improve its functionality.”



No recession. That’s the word from U.S. Treasury Secretary Ben Bernanke and Federal Reserve Chairman Henry Paulson.

And just to make sure no one second-guesses the Bush administration in its pronouncement of impending nationwide prosperity, the Bushies have killed the government website that provides U.S. economic data.

As the Center for American Progress reports today:

Forbes had awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data. Economic Indicators is particularly useful because people can sign up to receive e-mails as soon as new economic data across government agencies becomes available. While the data will still be available online at various federal websites, it will be less readily accessible to members of the public.

If bad economic data isn’t available, then it must not exist.

Feel better now about those 3 million U.S. jobs lost since Bush took office?