Davis: Bush turning blind eye to ailing economy

CNN ^ | 8/16/03 | Reuters

[MatthewViti]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Democrats accused President Bush on Saturday of refusing to recognize that his fiscal policies are weakening the economy.

"President Bush's misguided economic policies of huge tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and spiraling budget deficits have been a failure," U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama said in delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address.

[F.J. Mitchell]

We are engaged in a war for our survival-Governments rise to the size neccessary to overcome such adversity, or perish. Conservatism is very much about the reality of surviving in a hostile world. Most shrink back to pre-war size after victory, unless the liberals are allowed to divert no longer needed war funds into socialist pipe dreams, instead of reducing taxes.

[dvan]

Ditto! You beat me too it! Excellent observation!

[Normal4me]

Yeah, but we sock it to the tourist pretty good. Wages here are lower than a lot of other states too.

[F.J. Mitchell]

"and the interns followed suit!"

Or in Clinton's case, the interns followed the empty suit.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

What are you basing your estimates on? Just wondering.

Have you been to a mall lately?

Been to Sam's Club?

How about finding a carpenter or a plumber?

This economy has begun to perculate.

A friend who works for a private mortgage company has had little time with his family this summer.

My portfolio of 75 stocks gained 4% last week!!

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

What are you basing your estimates on? Just wondering.

Retail sales nationally have been running at an 11% increase for 8 weeks.

They say that the consumer is about 2/3 of the economy.

That puts growth at about 7%.
And business spending is up.

The tax cuts are just beginning to kick into gear and the consumer sentiment continues higher each month.

We might see 8% growth in one quarter between now and next summer....and that's nearing the pace of China.

Wait till the Democrats choke on that news!!

[arasina]

Thank you all for attending this thread. We're here to discuss what an awful, stinking, terrible job the president is doing on the economy. Okay. Now that you've had your say on that, I'd like to address my questions specifically to those who are doing all the complaining. Democrats and one IINO (Mr. Jeffords): What are your positive proposals for solving all the problems you continuously point out? Let's hear 'em. And no socialism, please; those suggestions will be thrown out. Keep in mind we're in America, okay? I know it's hard and you're not used to solving problems without changing rules, distorting facts or creatively using the judiciary, but you've obviously got a better idea of how this country should be run, or you wouldn't be criticizing President Bush.

So far, we've heard from some of you that higher taxes would create jobs. Prove it, providing all necessary facts and a timeline for when we can expect the employment boom and subsquent glowing economy.

And you, Senator Dimbrain, are contemplating rescinding the tax cuts as a way to help the economy. If you suggest that, what will you do for the people who were complaining with Tom Daschle's and Marian Edelman's encouraging support that they didn't get a tax rebate for their chillrun?

Yes? Old Crusty? Sorry, I meant the co-president senator from Illinois Arkansas New York. The preview of your plan is in your book. Oh, I see. And we have to buy it to find out? And the full plan will be revealed in your next book? Speak up, please. I can't hear you. The what manifesto? Uh, thanks, Senator. I'll go on to my next question.

Since you're all obviously so much more deserving of the presidency of these United States of America (the REPUBLIC), can you please tell us how you will do better at taking care of the important things you neglected from, say, 1992-2000?

[xrp]

I certainly hope you're right. I also hope that the retail sales are being paid for in cash and not on credit cards.

[BushCountry]

It not just retail sales that are up. Here is a collection of the good news lately. The list gets longer almost every day.

• GDP up and the most pessimistic prediction is growth over 4% next year.  Some predictions are over 6%.
• The pickup in business investment became evident last month when the Commerce Department reported that purchases of equipment and software rose at a 7.5 percent annual rate from April to June, the biggest quarterly increase in three years
• Spending on new plants, office buildings and other structures, businesses boosted this spending by 4.8 percent in the second quarter.
• Business equipment production, which includes transportation and information processing equipment, rose 0.4 percent in July, matching the June increase. Production of technology equipment, such as computers, communications gear and semiconductors, rose 0.8 percent last month after increasing 0.7 percent.
• A second report from the Federal Reserve offered a fresh sign that the industrial sector of the economy is on the mend. After being flat in June, production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities jumped by 0.5 percent in July, the biggest increase since January.
• "The economy is finally breaking out of its funk," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "July is the best month we've had in a long time. We're off to a strong start for the second half of this year."
• U.S. industrial production rose in July by the most in six months, paced by gains in autos, electronics and computers, and a jump in demand at utilities, a report from the Federal Reserve showed.
• Production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities increased 0.5 percent last month, the biggest gain since January, after an being unchanged in June, the Fed said in Washington.
• Automakers are producing more as demand improves. Cars and light trucks sold at a 17.3 million annual rate last month, the strongest performance of the year, separate industry statistics showed earlier this month.
• ``The threat of deflation has passed, and at worst what we are seeing is stabilization,'' said Brian Wesbury, chief economist at Griffin, Kubik, Stephens & Thompson Inc. in Chicago. ``As retail sales have picked up, all of a sudden it looks like some pricing power is returning.''
• Corporate profits have risen five straight quarters for Standard & Poor's 500 companies.
• The US service sector surprised experts with a fourth consecutive month of growth in July.
• Demand for U.S. manufactured goods rose at the sharpest rate in three months in June.
• CEOs saying they're worse off now than they were 6 months ago has dropped from 51% to 26%.
• Companies' unit labor costs, meanwhile, fell at a rate of 2.1 percent in the second quarter.
• The average forecast called for third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product to grow at a 3.7 percent annual rate.
• U.S. retail sales posted an unexpectedly strong advance in July, as spending on a broad array of items shot up, the government said on Wednesday in a report that bolstered hopes of a faster economic recovery.
• Inventories for the last couple of months are low.
• World air traffic is forecast to begin a gradual recovery next year, after three years of recession, holding out hope for an end to the worst financial crisis ever suffered by the global airline industry.
• Looking at gross domestic product, real goods production as a share of real (inflation-adjusted) GDP is close to its all-time high. In the first quarter of 2003 -- the latest data available -- real goods production was 39.2 percent of real GDP. The highest annual figure ever recorded was 40 percent in 2000.

[skr]

When our first Wal-Mart opened, the signs hanging from the ceiling and on the tags proudly proclaimed Made in the USA. Then Sam Walton died and so did the original idea behind his stores. Now most things come from China, Indonesia and India, with a little of Taiwan and the Philippines thrown in. A USA tag is all too rare.

[xrp]

Thanks. Great news, indeed.

[CyberAnt]

Here we have a CLASSIC case of PROJECTION!!!

Dufus is trying to blame Bush for the things Dufus is guilty of. Pitiful .. they just get more pitiful everyday.

[SierraWasp]

"click here to read article"

Looks to me like about half of the repliers to this thread never read the article! It's quoting some Alabama jerk named Davis!!!

This thread isn't about Groveller Gray Duffus of California, for once!!!

Lately... CONFUSION REIGNS ON FREEREPELLIC.COM!!!

[SierraWasp]

"...fraud left by blowjob bill!"

Yew tawkin bout ol Billy Bentpekker? (snort!)

[Susannah]

"Wal'Mart became the exclusive Outlet Store in America, for Chinese made goods, during the Clinton Administration."

Headquarters for Wal-Mart= Arkansas! - - - And how many trips did the Village Clintons take to China?

Many Wal-Marts moved into California during the Clinton years AND many smaller shops closed down.

[Susannah]

"huge tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans"

I don't recall any Democrats even propose excluding the wealthiest from the tax cuts. And 79% of what they are labeling wealthy are actually small businesses who file differently than corporations. Small businesses are the ones who are doing the most hiring in most states. My son qualifies as one of the small businesses and he is planning to buy equipment toward the end of the year and hire at least one helper. :^) my son's thrilled to find out he is "wealthy"; he got his license to do the same kind of work he was doing just a year ago after being fed up with the low wages and benefits he was getting.

[eldoradude]

"President Bush's misguided economic policies of huge tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and spiraling budget deficits have been a failure," U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama said in delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address.

Ah yes, the Deliverance of the weakly radio address. I don't like liver, or banjos, or weakly democrats from Alabama.

[MatthewViti]

to an small extent, yes. i think Bush could be doing more, but I feel the economy being the way it is now is not the fault of GWB.

[abt87]

Let's see...GDP up....unemployment down....retail sales improving because of the Bush tax cuts...you're going down Gray!

[F.J. Mitchell]

"A USA tag is all too rare."

Darn near non-existant. I would be willing to pay double for almost anything with a made in the USA tag, and I am not wealthy. Trouble is that American made products are too often unavaliable at any price.

THe truth is that we are paying every bit as much for these goods, manufactured by semi-slaves working for peanuts, as we would pay for a similar product created by Americans drawing respectable wages, assuming such products were available.

Our jobs are going overseas-we are being flooded with illegal aliens from all over, to take away from American's, the few jobs left here.

THe whole damn world is out to destroy America, and American's at the leadership level are lemmingesquely suicidal.