Posted on 06/30/2004 9:54:04 AM PDT by stevejackson
There’s no question that the U.S. economy is booming. Why isn’t this reflected in President’s Bush poll ratings? Why would Americans think that John Kerry would do anything but ruin the economy? Kerry: the King of All Waflers; the most liberal member of the Senate. He proposes increasing taxes by $700 billion over the next 10 years. Kerry plans to stifle the American economic engine. Faced with good economic times, just what are Americans thinking?
Boom Times
Yesterday, the Conference Board reported that U.S. consumer confidence reached its best level in two years. 248,000 new American jobs were created in May. April’s reading of 288,000 new jobs was adjusted upward to 346,000, while March’s numbers were revised up to 353,000 from 308,000. Almost one million new jobs have been created in just the last three months. American wallets are getting fatter. Worker’s hourly wages rose 0.3% in May, making for two months straight of gains. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 4.2% during the first three months of 2004, and was revised upward to 4.4%. U.S. manufacturing activity is very strong.
The Disconnect
Despite the good news, an opinion poll conducted June 21-23 by Gallup showed that, “when Americans are asked who would better handle the economy,” 53% said Kerry while only 40% said Bush. That’s the bad news. There is a good but contradictory silver lining. According to Gallup,
There is positive news in the latest poll for Bush in relationship to the public's view of the economy. The president's approval rating on handling the economy has gone from 41% across the last three polls to 47% in the June 21-23 poll. At the same time, the percentage of Americans who disapprove of his handling of the economy has dropped from 58% to 50%. That's the lowest disapproval rating for Bush on the economy since late January of this year. …
In historical context, this economic rating puts Bush close to the economic ratings Bill Clinton received at this point in 1996 -- 49% -- and much better than the position of his father in 1992, when the elder Bush's approval rating on the economy was right around the 20% level.
Maybe Americans are seeing the economy through Iraq-colored glasses. Gallup found that 51% of Americans said the Iraq war was not worth the effort, while 46% said it was. Paradoxically, 58% felt the war was not a mistake, while 41% felt it was. Americans are evenly split as to who would do a better job in Iraq. Bush leads Kerry by a wide margin in Americans’ opinion of who would do a better job in the war on terror. Bush’s job approval rating has hovered around 48% for four months.
With the media censoring much of the good news coming out of Iraq, its easy to see why Americans would have their innate optimism worn down. If you tell people they’re dogs enough times, they’ll probably start barking. As the good economic news keeps coming, more and more people find jobs, and paychecks get bigger, the good people of the U.S. will realize that Bush is the better man for president.
Other than Rush and on FR, I never hear anyone say they think the economy is booming.
Fox News
You're right, I never hear regular people saying the economy is booming...all I hear locally, are how prices for everything have gone sky-high, and people are worried about their jobs.
The silence of left-wing media is deafening, isn't it?
Where do you live? (Everywhere I look, I see "Sale" signs - prices look pretty reasonable to me.)
The Economist, Financial Times, etc., etc., etc.
For some inexplicable reason (sarcasm), these are not representatives of American press...
Housing, utilities, food, gas, insurance, taxes...these aren't going down.
Regarding housing, I'd venture that, due to lower interest rates, housing costs for many have actually declined. I've noticed no dramatic increase in food prices, either. I'd say prices on most consumer goods have been in a deflationary trend - some rebounding would be expected as economic activity increases. Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices are lower than in the 50's, and I'm not anxious to return to the Carter era gas lines. As to insurance costs, thank a lawyer and a byzantine health care system. Higher utility prices reflect the underlying problems in the energy industry, which the Demorats and their ilk exacerbate at every turn. As to taxes, the increases are at the state and local level, not Federal. All in all, I'd say economic performance has been pretty good considering that we've survived a major attack and fought two wars to boot.
The trend where I live in new-home building, is for larger more expensive homes...affordable, new construction for low to middle income families, is almost non-existent. This results in a sellers market, where the low-income home-buyer, is paying more for their home than they should. Our food costs have risen. I don't think inflation-adjusted prices, are what most people see at the pump..the taxes have not gone down. It doesn't matter who one thanks, it's the out-of-pocket expense that people see. The energy problems, regardless of the cause, still result in higher costs. State and local taxes still come out of the peoples pockets. Everytime the market starts looking good...the big guys sell...they can make a profit on stocks that go up 5 cents a share, because they have huge transactions...it's the guys with 500 or 1000 shares, that cannot take advantage of these increases, that get screwed.
I hear what you're saying. But the government is not the answer to all our problems. New construction too high? Look for a fixer-upper. Or wait 'til the prices come down. (They will - everything runs in cycles.) Same with state & local taxes - when they get high enough, people move. We all make our own prisons - "Too soon old, too late smart."
We have to help turn the sheeple back into "the people", and FR is a great place to start.
I was replying to the questions asked...I'm not saying the govt is the answer to all...I'm just commenting on the fact that not many people I know and assciate with, think the economy is booming, and I gave a couple of examples that my opinions are based on. Not everyone...actually quite a few, can fix-up a house...besides, have you been to a Lowe's or Home Depot recently..fixing-up is extremely expensive, and many would have to use a credit card to buy what was necessary, increasing their debt-load. Many are waiting for prices to go dow, but rentals are not cheap, and they increase in cost quite often. It costs a lot of money to move a family, find a new job, etc.
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