Bush- “Glad I am not middle class”
As President Bush toured the nation to spread the news of great economic turn around, many are left wondering what country he is talking about.
Then a not so shocking report that most average Americans already knew: "The economy is good, but it hasn't improved for everybody," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com, an economics research firm. "The gains have predominantly gone to higher-income and higher net-worth households. Lower net-worth households are still struggling." The recently passed energy bill will provide 14.5 billion dollars worth of tax breaks for energy companies over the next 10 years but provides no real long term solutions to our dependence on foreign energy. Right now America imports 60% of its oil, and with provisions in the bill such as extending daylight savings time by one month, one can almost see the latest energy bill as the script for a stand up comedian. It is neither bold nor innovative and despite being over 1700 pages long, it seemed more than anything to show a Congress who wanted to get to their vacations in the Hamptons, than it showed a concern government trying to find solutions, which of course was one of President Bush’s key points during the elections. I guess now the elections are over, his job is done, time to hit the ranch.
The policies of supply side economics are being felt across America as housing starts are down nationwide due to increasing interest rates and soaring gas prices. The price for crude hit an all time high of over $66.00 dollars a barrel, a 47% increase over the past year and it is starting to be felt across the board. There are rumors of truck drivers across the nation going on strike in protest of the rising prices putting fear into retailers that they may have to increase the prices of goods by a marked amount. In addition to the rising price of crude, Saudi Arabia has announced it will be lowering its production amounts because it says that the demand was not as great as expected. Now one has to wonder, if they are scaling back production because of lowered demand, then it would seem only logical that prices should fall, yet they are starting to soar leaving one to wonder what is really going on. Are the OPEC nations at peak production now, as some have claimed that the OPEC production output capacity is way over estimated and this latest move may just be a confirmation of that.
Pollster Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, said Americans are far more negative about their personal finances than the government data cited by Bush would suggest. This of course is just another example of how out of touch the Bush administration is with the American people, then again most of those in the current administration base their assessment of average Americans as those party faithful with six digit incomes, and not people who shop at Walmart. Someone may want to remind the President and his administration that soaring gas prices had a great deal to do with the fall of Jimmy Carter, and that the impact of high gas prices are something that is felt in the pocketbooks of average people.
Those Republicans who do no prescribe to the neoconservative caste may want to advise the President to get in touch with the people again, because unlike George W Bush who does not have to worry about reelection, many other Republicans do. The people are starting to grumble about the situation as a whole, with the cost of the Iraq war, both in dollars and lives having an impact, the rising cost of fuel, rising interest rates, soaring health care cost, and a President who seems more like King Louie than the leader of a democratic republic, the stage is set and the mid term elections will surely show the sentiment of the people.
Flip
3 comments:
I found this in a book, Financial SURVIVAL In the Age of New Money, by Gordon Williams, regarding economy:
"I call it an "age of new money" because it's a time unlike any we've known - or our parents, or our grandparents, or any other generation in American history.
"We could blame the oil nations of OPEC, and surely they deserve blame. But inflation was well rooted in our economy years before the price of oil went up, and we've done little enough in the years since to adapt our economy to higher oil prices.
"It's harder to blame ourselves for wanting everything after a depressin and a war in which we had little. Of course we want jobs and cars and homes and rich vacations and Medi-care and clean air and a nation whose military might is second to none. We won't settle for less, but neither will we pay the higher taxes so we can have it all. We - the people and the government - have paid for these with borrowed money until there isn't a hope all our debts can ever be paid off.
"Mostly we can blame our government for promising we could have it all when it knew we couldn't, and for trying to provide it all when it knew it shouldn't. The government's answer has been to print new money as fast as the presses would turn until our money has ceased to have much value - which is what inflation is all about. The value of anything lies in its relative scarcity, and in trying to satisfy everyone, our government has printed so much money that it's as commonplace as acorns on the ground.
"We, as a people, permitted it to happen. But that's because we knew so little about money that we didn't understand what was happening until it was too late.
"Had we known about money, we'd have known that governnments always destroy their currencies - and that money, when it isn't backed by gold or silver, has led to inflation in every country that ever issued it. It's an age of new money for us, but it's an old story elsewhere, and 1,000 years ago, there were nations going through what we're going through today."
That's from a book printed in 1981! Wonder if there's any hope for us in 976 years??
-Ashe
It finally came to me this morning. I knew I was having a De Ja Vu moment with President Bush, He was reminding me of someone. It is the old Iraqi spin master Bagdad Bob!!! I remember as the tanks rolled through the streets of Bagdad ole Bob stood before the cameras and cursed the U.S., he was saying that all was well, and no harm was coming to his city, that if the infidels dared to enter his city, they would be killed like dogs. During this time I was wondering what color the clouds were in ole Bob's world. It appears the President and Condi have the "Bagdad Bob" syndrome. "All is well" they are telling us, "The insurgents are weakening and we may be able to start bring troops home soon." Bulloney, the attacks are increasing every day, our troops and the Iraqi people are dying from these bombs made by a "weakening" insurgency. As for withdrawling troops, I tend to agree with John McCain, "When I can land at the airport and drive to Bagdad, then I will consider withdrawling troops."
So I guess that Bush has hired Bagdad Bob as his new speech writer and has him stowed away on that chicken farm of his in Texas. Wonder what color the clouds are there? :D
Btw, that was Rough that just posted that previous statement:D
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