I'd give'm 3 bucks for this pair of Sorrells.
Posted on 09/19/2006 1:41:02 PM PDT by Libloather
Nation's economic growth leaves some areas behind
By Liz Sidoti
Associated Press
Unemployment rates in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virgiria are higher than the national average.
Kentucky - 6.3 percent
Ohio - 5.8 percent
Indiana - 5.7 percent
West Virginia - 5.4 percent
FALMOUTH, Ky. - Used boots fetch $3 and old salt-and-pepper shakers bring in a buck at a makeshift flea market along U.S. 27, presumably not what President Bush and Republicans have in mind when they herald a vibrant economy.
Times are "very good for the rich and very, very bad for the poor" who "can't afford to live," laments Larry Mitchell, 43, a now-and-then merchant peddling his wares recently in a sub sandwich shop parking lot. He says the middle class is "having a hard time."
In the Ohio River Valley, where people decry high gas prices, stagnant wages, lost jobs and factory closures, many don't buy the claim that the economy is humming along.
Seven weeks before the midterm elections, the gulf between Bush's perceptions and that of voters form the political backdrop across the country as well as in a region with several competitive House races. This area typically gets left out of national boom times and usually feels the pinch more than others during slowdowns.
Here and elsewhere differing views on the economy could hurt the GOP's efforts to retain control of the House and Senate this fall, and give voters reason to put Democrats in charge instead.
In Washington, the economist in chief encourages GOP candidates to embrace the economy as a stellar accomplishment. "I'd say, 'Look at what the economy has done. It's strong. We've created a lot of jobs,'" Bush said recently.
So, Republicans hit the campaign trial with a rallying cry that 5.7 million jobs have been created since August 2003. They cast Democrats as tax-raisers who would bring economic gloom and doom.
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi counters that "President Bush and the Republicans are out of touch with Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck and are struggling to make ends meet.
Her rank-and-file portrays an economy under Republicans that leaves behind the poor and hinders the middle class. Democrats also complain about a soaring federal deficit and Bush's tax cuts "for the wealthy" during wartime.
Nationally, the economy grew strongly at the beginning of this year but it has slowed, reflecting the toll of high energy prices and two-plus years of interest-rate pain from the Federal Reserve. Gasoline and other energy prices now are falling and the Fed is expected to stay on the sidelines for a while after halting its rate-raising campaign last month.
Economic growth through the rest of the year is expected to stay relatively subdued. However, most economists don't believe the economy is in danger of falling into recession.
Hiring, which has been uneven this year, picked up in August, pulling the nation's unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent.
At the same time, wages are rising.
However, inflation has taken a bite out of workers' paychecks and put the squeeze on some family budgets.
The mixed picture could have consequences for Republicans who control Congress.
"They could very well be held accountable on the economic front," said Robert Shapiro, a public opinion expert at Columbia University in New York.
A recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Democrats have a 22-point edge among likely voters who care deeply about the economy, with 57 percent saying they're more likely to vote for Democrats and 35 percent indicating they probably would lean Republican.
It's also possible that the country's economic vitality may not be much - if any - consequence to the political party in power.
In the poll, more likely voters ranked the situation in Iraq and terrorism as "extremely important" to them personally than the economy.
And an AP analysis found that while most likely voters rated it an important issue, the economy isn't driving their vote in November.
A dozen years ago, when Republicans came into power in Congress, health care and crime were more important to voters than the economy.
Exit polls from 1994 show that 22 percent of voters picked the economy as their most important issue, compared to health care, 30 percent, and crime, 25 percent.
This campaign season, Bush has been championing his economic policies but public sentiment over his job performance on the economy remains sour.
Only 40 percent of likely voters in an AP-Ipsos poll conducted last week said they approve of how he's handled the economy.
Economic strength is a perpetual concern in the factory-and-farmland Ohio River Valley that mainly encompasses parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, four states that all saw their unemployment rates rise from June to July.
Voters in those states and others wince at suggestions of a robust economy.
"It's just scary," said June Meredith, 49, a self-employed caterer, as she passed along talk of business closures at the Cake Ladies Dream Shoppe along a not-quite-bustling road in New Albany, Ind.
In this region full of commuters, voters bemoan the "trickle down" effect of high gas prices - even though they had dipped from $3 a gallon to $2.61 in Lexington one recent week.
"Everything from a loaf of bread to a pair of shoes," seems to cost more, said Ronald Barrett, 70, a Democrat supervising a group doing community service on Scottsburg's quaint town square in Indiana.
In Butler, business could be better at Thaxton's Canoe Trails and Paddler's Inn, where a six-mile trip on the Licking River costs $15.95 per person and a one-night "cozy cabin" stay for two goes for $59.99."
"People don't want to spend money, and the ones that do want to spend money do it sparingly," said Glen Thaxton, 25, a ponytailed Republican who voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004.
He took over the family business recently, and says he hopes to boost it.
The next Cincinnati Bengals home game tickets range from $111 to $770 a piece.
Cleveland Browns home game tickets range from $30 to $351.
Cincinnati Reads tickets go between $15 and $257.
Cleveland Indian tickets go between $19 and $292.
Penn State @ Ohio State tickets cost $201 to $933.
Tool tickets for Cleveland are priced $41 to $221.
Megadeth tickets are going for $100.
Nick Lachey will be in Cincinnati. Those seats go for $88 to $467.
The only tickets available for Nick in Columbus are going for $158.
Rolling Stones tickets for Louisville are going for $117 to $2333.
Toby Keith in Cincinnati will cost you between $61 (to sit on the grass) and $609.
Aerosmith with Motley Crue in Cincinnati are going for $53 to $973.
Rascal Flatts in Dayton will cost between $105 and $609.
Has anyone ever been in a Dave & Busters? In Cincinnati, I've seen people throw down $300 - in one night - to play video games and pool.
Things ain't so bad in Ohio. And the author fetched a pair of boots for only $3!
Liz Sidoti and Nancy Pelosi: identical twins?
So according to the CinPost, the middle class consists of "now-and-then merchants peddling their wares in sub sandwich parking lots?"
What's the matter? McDonald's not hiring?
Of course Democratic strongholds are the "hardest hit". What business leader in their right mind wants to invest in an area full of union members, folks with a sense of entitlement, a jackpot mentality and a culture of dependency on government handouts?
Hey, I grew up in Appalachia and know danged well of which I speak. The union movement was given root with good reasons during the coal field wars, but the Great Society is to blame for the rest of the problems.
It's appalachia. It will always be left behind.
Save up to rent a U-haul and get the heck out!
The Agenda Press (AP) is tirelessly working for the democrats. Now they are writing opinion pieces.
To paraphrase John Kerry, I was poor before I was rich.
Like those of the Dim WELFARE mentality are supposed to ever get on the train to prosperity.
I'd give'm 3 bucks for this pair of Sorrells.
Peddling crap in parking lots is not the road to riches. Must be a democrat. They really don't know sh*t from Shinolla.
The owners of the Red, Bengals, Steelers & Pirates; all of whom used taxpayer money to pay for their new stadiums; are also not doing too badly.
People that don't work, see their incomes rise too. demonrats tied their handouts to the minimum wage and inflation. The only people left out are those too lazy to work or file for welfare.
LLS
Tom Sowell mentioned in one of his columns a few years back that Appalachia is the poorest region of the country, but that it is also the most conservative by far. When you think about it, that shouldn't really be a surprise.
According to this 94.2% of the people that are employable in Ohio are working. That's pretty bad in the eyes of AL-AP I guess.
They're complaining about such numbers?
That's funny. The unemployment in WV was 4.7% when the Democrat Governor took office.
--That's funny. The unemployment in WV was 4.7% when the Democrat Governor took office.--
Damn..from 4.7% to 5.4%...why..right here www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/Mar/wk1/art02.htm
it says it was 6.6% before Bush took office in 1999! It was Bush's fault before he even became President.
Hey, it's election time...the poor are in the news again!!!
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