Economy Gets No Respect

Courant.com ^ | 07/04/06 | MARK J. PERRY

[Abathar]

No matter how good the U.S. economy gets, no matter how many new jobs are created, the red-hot economy still gets no respect from the media, leading The Wall Street Journal to call it the "Rodney Dangerfield economy."

The media have consistently downplayed the turbocharged U.S. economy, now in its fifth year of solid economic expansion. And yet almost any country in the world would gladly trade its economic conditions for a U.S. economy.

In Canada, it was headline news in June that the unemployment rate fell to a 32-year low of 6.1 percent. In more than a decade, the United States has not had an unemployment rate higher than 6 percent except for five months in 2003, and our media disparagingly dismissed that period as a "jobless recovery."

With the same unemployment rates of about 6 percent, it's a "jobless recovery" according to the U.S. media, and the strongest economic expansion in more than a generation in Canada!

Another example of the media's downplaying of the U.S. economy is its neglect of the history-making news that nine states have set record-low unemployment rates so far in 2006, and an additional 15 states are within a percent of their historical low jobless rates. Almost half of all states are at or near their lowest jobless rates in history, and we hear nothing about it from the media. Even though a national unemployment rate of 4.6 percent gets no respect from the media here, almost any country in Europe would love to have our labor market conditions.

It's been more than a quarter-century since France or Germany has had unemployment rates anywhere close to 4.6 percent, and 30 years since the European Union countries as a group have had a jobless rate that low.

If the European Union were a U.S. state, its current overall unemployment rate of 7.5 percent would rank it the highest in the United States except for Mississippi.

Where are the stories about the more than 5.2 million U.S. jobs that have been created in the past two years, a pace that adds more than 142,000 jobs every month? Where is the coverage of the phenomenal 5.2 percent growth in real U.S. output so far this year, which is double the growth rate of most European countries?

And what about the dire warnings of the "2003 tax cuts for the rich" that the media trumpeted so loudly several years ago?

Where are the reports today about the explosion in tax revenues generated by the strongest economy in a decade, and the increasing share of taxes paid by "the rich?"

In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, federal tax receipts have increased by 13 percent, the second-highest rate of growth for that eight-month period in the last 25 years, surpassed only by last year's increase of 15 percent.

Further, the share of taxes paid by the wealthiest 10 percent has increased in each year since the 2003 tax cut, rising from less than 50 percent of all income taxes paid in 2003 to almost 60 percent in 2005.

In other words, the media spin about "tax cuts for the rich" never materialized - tax revenues have increased significantly and the rich are paying more in taxes. Where are the news stories now about the "tax hike for the rich"?

Even in its worst recession, the U.S. economy is still stronger than almost any other country in the world during its best years.

And yet, even now, when the U.S. economy has a historically high level of employment, historically low unemployment rates in nine states and higher national income, output and tax revenues than at any time in U.S. history, the Dangerfield economy still gets no respect.

Mark J. Perry is an associate professor of finance and economics at the University of Michigan at Flint. This was distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

[Abathar]

How people can't understand what will happen when the Dim's finally get back in and kill this goose that is laying the golden egg of tax cuts is beyond me. Now if they will just slow the interest rate increases down a little or just say the heck with these little jumps and just finally put one large increase in and call it quits then most people will start feeling they are sitting on firmer ground. I can't stand these micro increases constantly, if they need to ajust it then just DO it and quit fiddling around, go back to the 1% changes they use to do, one or two days of unrest then its done already.

[Perdogg]

People who have 401k still receive quarterlies and as long as those quarterlies are moving up, the GOP should retain the House at least. Midterm elections are generally, economic elections (1986, 1990,1994, & 2002 exceptions).

[Brilliant]

If you're unemployed, then it's a bad economy even if the overall unemployment rate is only 4%.




There are a whole lot of journalists who are either unemployed or about to become unemployed.

[RedStateRocker]

Reagan said it best:
"It's a recession if your friends are unemployed. It's a depression if you're unemployed"

Most of my friends are unemployed; my job is less secure than it's been in 10 years. I don't give a rip what *ANY* statistics say, how high the Dow is, how much the Waltons have; the economy sucks right now; sorry to any and all freepers and other conservatives who think this is hearsy but as much as I might have disliked Clinton EVERYBODY I knew not only had a job then but could get another one in a time frame measured in hours. Of course Clinton had nothing to do with it but the last few years of the 20th century will always be the highpoint of our economy I fear.

[Abathar]

LOL! Very true, your screen name is right on cue.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Remember the 2004 election when CNN called the 5.6% unemployment rate bad? In 1996 it was the exact same unemployment rate and it was good.

[Grampa Dave]

The amazing thing is how many of the so called pundits never recognized or called the recent bull market.

Recently some are predicting the end of this bull. I sent one an email asking him when he ever in public recognized the bull market.

We need to do that as a standard reply when some of these left wing maggots start talking about the end of the current bull market. Send them a simple email and ask them when they noted in their writings that we were in a bull market.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087145/posts

[Grampa Dave]

Freepers who have 401ks with mutual fund investments might want to see if those mutual funds own or have recently bought shares of NY Slimes, NYT.

Pinch has increased the NY Slimes Corporate Culture of lying to its readers and advertisers to new high. That Corporate Culture for about two years has been hurting the stock value of the Ny Slimes stock, NYT, severely

Even if Freepers aren't concerned about the danger to America caused by the Ny Slimes, if their mutual funds own NYT stock, they should be concerned.

Below is a comparison chart showing what a terrible investment the NY Slimes, NYT, has been for the last two years. For comparison, NYT is compared to MDY, the ETF fund for the mid cap index, and HAL, the "hated and evil" Haliburton.

If your mutual fund owns NYT, sell it or trade it for a fund that doesn't own this liberal loss leader stock. Send a letter to the Fund Manager and CEO of the Mutual Fund Company and tell them you sold the fund.

Then demand to know why they invested your $'s in this turkey.

Next send the SEC a letter with this chart in the letter or attached, and ask them to investigate why the mutual fund invested in NYT. The investment was not in the mutual fund owner's best interest. It helped the NY Slimes to stay afloat, publish seditious articles, and it wasted precious investor investment $'s.

[CertainInalienableRights]

And on top of this, we're conducting a pretty sizeable war, and contending with higher oil/gasoline prices.

Sadly, if the Republicans in Congress had a set and had implemented the President's energy policies a few years back, energy price rises might have been mitigated which would have given them a better chance at reelection in November.

[Abathar]

I know, all this good news and gas at 2.84 here in Indiana. Just think of what the outlook would be if they had ANWAR coming on line like they should to help stabilize the Iran threat.

[RedStateRocker]

ANything about 2% is bad.

[Fairview]

Looks as though you and all your friends need to go into a different field.

[1rudeboy]

Happy Fourth!

[RedStateRocker]

Various fields: computer support (outsourced), electronics design (outsourced) CADD (you guessed it) Manufacturing medical products (yep, guessed right). I think there are some people who won't pronounce it a good economy until the only things left in the USA are fast food cooks and janitors- oh, but the Dow will be at 12000. Bah, tax, at excise rate of 50% every company that has even one worker not an American citizen living on American soil, 'cause that's a foreign company. (sorry, just burnt out as all hell on this supposedly 'great' economy. it SUCKS, it only marginally better than the Carter economy and that is only because computer products are far cheaper and better).

[Toddsterpatriot]

Bah, tax, at excise rate of 50% every company that has even one worker not an American citizen living on American soil, 'cause that's a foreign company.

Yeah, that'll help you and your buddies get a job.

it SUCKS, it only marginally better than the Carter economy

Keep whining, vote for a Democrat in 2008 and then whine when everything goes to hell.

[rb22982]

I dont know anyone unemployed or having trouble finding a job. /shrug

[sick1]

What do you do that is currently so insecure? It my industry (IT) it's been an amazing past few years if you are dedicated to keeping your skills updated.

[PackerBronco]

Reagan said it best:
"It's a recession if your friends are unemployed. It's a depression if you're unemployed"

"... and it's a recovery when President Carter is unemployed ..."

[CzarNicky]

where do you live I live in Cleveland Ohio, one of the most depressed areas in the country and I found anywhere from hundreds of jobs (computer support) to tens of jobs (medical manufacturing) from just a cursory job search. You might consider moving there have got to be areas doing even better than here.