The Bush Boom

Wall Street Journal (Subscription) ^ | September 15, 2003 | Brian S. Wesbury

[maui_hawaii]

The big question is will it be in time to save Dubya? If not, we are all in really big trouble...

Exactly my sentiments.

[Mulder]

Actually, everyone (including the Fed) is saying the current rate of inflation is just over 2%.

Isn't it interesting how they can make the case that there is no inflation by simply not counting the items that have seen significant inflation (such as houses, medicial care, college, etc....)?

[maui_hawaii]

Its a chicken and the egg question...somewhat at least...

Do you have a boom because employment is good, or is employment good because of the boom?

[Jeff Chandler]

They can quote 10% growth yada yada...and that doesn't equate to jack.

Industry is still a bit gun shy after the recession. At some point they will confident enough to start hiring. It won't be like the dot com craze, though. That was a "gold rush" mentality.

[Conservomax]

Good question, what exactly is a boom? I think it is a term used by the media when everyone is happy and there's a democrat in the white house.

[Jeff Chandler]

Start a business. Mine is doing VERY well right now...

Same here. I have a full time-plus overtime-job AND a sideline business that is starting to catch on fire. Between work and homeschooling my daughter, I have hardly a moment to spare for Freerepublic!

[JasonC]

Believe me, if 6% real growth actually happens and is sustained over 6 months or more, you will be able to tell. That is a monster rate for anything more than a 1 quarter blip.

[JasonC]

No, it is definitely the latter. Boom first, then jobs. Labor lags on the upswing; always has. People first managed to do more with what they have and find useful things to do. Then they can't keep up and need more people to do them. That's just the way it works.

[Joe Brower]

[MeekOneGOP]

I was surprised that this week old story had not been posted by the Bushbots.

Good news if true.

Hey ! I resemble that remark ! :O)

I also heard on the radio LAST Monday (9-15) something about advertising revenues (Advertising Index??) being up, which was supposed to portend future job outlook/growth getting better. That is great news also ...

November, 2004:
President Bush on the Road to Victory ...

[MeekOneGOP]

I was surprised that this week old story had not been posted by the Bushbots.

Good news if true.

Hey ! I resemble that remark ! :O)

I also heard on the radio LAST Monday (9-15) something about advertising revenues (Advertising Index??) being up, which was supposed to portend future job outlook/growth getting better. That is great news also ...

November, 2004:
President Bush on the Road to Victory ...

[MeekOneGOP]

Sheesh ! Double-post ... sorry.

[Rokke]

Actually the rate of change in the price of health care is almost right at its ten year average. The factors measured by the Consumer Price Index to measure the rate of inflation don't change from year to year. "They" don't add or remove things to manipulate inflation figures. "You" may be manipulated by the media to believe some things are rising at abnormal rates (healthcare, housing etc), but that is because the media has an agenda to manipulate your thinking. The CPI does not.

[fortaydoos]

There are MILLIONs of new jobs being created. Unfortunately for the average American, these jobs are in China and India.

[GatekeeperBookman]

Unemployment is THE problem-'outsourcing' is a major factor. Here is part of 'why' it occurs.

From:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986807/posts Us Jobs: Next Stop, India

Are people on this board actually suggesting that the Imperial Federal Government step in and tell private enterprise who they can and can't hire, what they can and can't do with their own businesses?

Is this the Free Republic spirit?!

Overseas outsourcing actually spares American jobs as it allows a business to continue to exist in the international marketplace by shopping out certain non-local functions, as opposed to this firm simply going out of business due to an inability to compete.

The TRUE source of this outsourcing trend are such things as:

a. Minimum wage laws
Which drive up the cost of goods and service at every level of the supply chain.

b. Restrictive mandatory daily overtime laws
Which force companies to hire unnecessary, costly employees due to the fact that the current workforce is not allowed (under law) to fill in certain shifts.

c. Paid Family Medical Leave legislation
Which makes it very costly financially and managerially to employ American workers.

d. Confiscatory levels of taxation
Which create unnaturally high consumer prices, forcing companies to cut fixed and variable costs at any and every level

What we need is much LESS governmental meddling in the affairs of private enterprise and the employees who drive this nation's economic engine.

Outsourcing to India is but a symptom of a very large government-induced problem.

Pure, free-market capitalism is the most moral and ethical economic system, as it distributes the largest amount of goods and services to the largest number of individuals in the shortest amount of time, and compensates people at all levels for doing so.


20 posted on 09/21/2003 9:46 PM PDT by Bryan Resheske

[GatekeeperBookman]

The unemployment is also agrevated by low business investment. IMHO. Please tell me I am wrong-but this problem is not being fixed.

[GatekeeperBookman]

I'ld rather see him on any of two dozen Valley highways ( in South Texas ) seeing with his own eyes, the awful wave of illegals who camp there.

The citizens of Texas must feed, water, clothe, shelter, educate & medicate these 'throw away' children of Fox.

We have a flood of Third World Barbarians & never-to-be-assimilated criminal aliens: & WE pay the taxes of the mexicans who stay put! Why is Kalifornia broke? They spend vast fortunes on what? Criminal aliens who don't pay squat!

[null and void]

Well said/quoted...

[null and void]

Courtesy ping - see post #55 and reply.

[Starwind]

All the factors you cite are true contributors to the burdens on business.

Businesses further undermine themselves with overemphasis on short-term profits and share price growth (often through accounting gimmickry), while de-emphasizing quality, operational effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.

That and an overall myopia.

All brought to you by graduates of Ivy-League B-Schools.