Do you think our economy is as great as Bush and his gang would like us to think?

Question

Here in Indiana we just aren't feeling the love as far as the economy goes. I noticed yesterday that a local farmer who grows mums for commercial use has scaled back his operation by more than half. It appears to me that he did his homework and decided that with gas prices and the current draught in this area, mums might not be on the top of everyones list as needed items this fall. He had a contract with Wal-Mart also so it's a possibility that could have come into play.

Mitch Daniels (our gov) would have people believe that Indiana is just peachy but I would argue that. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have gone south or overseas (my husband's included.) All Mitch wants to do is sell off chunks of the state: The Indidana Toll Road. He has outsourced the local prison to a contractor that donated to his election campaign (imagine that). Recently there was a riot there by Arizona inmates brought in to fill the prison. The riot occured just about 1 month afer they came.

Answer 1

As a neighbor in Ohio, I can say the economy in the mid-west is in poor shape. All the jobs going overseas are leaving from here. Since last November, the number of people on welfare has more than doubled in Ohio. Unemployment in some parts of the state are as high as 8%.

Answer 2

If the tax cuts Bush proposed and congress passed in 2001 are not made permanent before 2010 then you will see just how good the economy is right now. The tax cuts will lapse and the US Government will remove about $700 Billion from the private economy so they can spend it on more worthless government programs, which will cause a sharp downturn in the economy almost immediately. I am a management consultant that works with small and medium manufacturing and distribution companies to help make them more efficient and productive so they can compete with anyone in the world and keep jobs here. With technological change and the pace of the expansion of information technology the plain fact is that the US can maintain its manufacturing base with far fewer people than in the past. When the auto came along I am sure many people in the buggy whip manufacturing business lost their jobs. Economies change and those who work in them must change their skill set to match new needs or get left out. Its a fact of life, and nothing can change it. Certainly not Federal, State or Local Governments or industrial unions that create zero productive jobs. Investments create businesses and businesses create productive jobs. Sucking $700 Billion out of the economy by increasing taxes on those people who invest their money in new businesses absolutely won't. Guaranteed.

Answer 3

The report on the state of the economy is based on a general equation. It is a fallacy that if the top 10% are doing well, the report will turn out well. It is a measurement of unemployment, the stock market, home sales and ownership among others. It does not mean that everyone in the country is doing well. It means the majority of the country is doing well. I am not "feeling the love" either, but it is not due to anything the Federal government has done. I was laid off due to budget cuts in State spending, and my state is run by Democrats. But my program was for the middle class, not the lower class, so the budget was cut.

Answer 4

Despite what our local government is saying here in Washington state, I don't see the Great Pumpkin here either--in terms of economic rosiness.

While our unemployment rates have dropped, the amount of jobs being produced are just shrinking with each passing month.

Most of the jobs produced are in the service sector, and not a lot of them are high-paying entry-level jobs.

And a great many of them are outsourced overseas.

Sure, you may see a few jobs in the $9-$12/hr range, but don't let these numbers FOOL you.

Here in Snohomish County, inflation is running high in the rental market. Units are running between $800-$1200 a month (sometimes more), and we have a gluttony of condos on the market which are selling for $260K-$2 million.

And when you have jobs that aren't paying very much, you aren't going to be able to afford decent housing.

And don't get me started on food prices. We're paying out of our butts for the basic essentials, and when you got $200 in foodstamps each month--it doesn't go as far as you would like it to.

Bottom line: The Bush "economy" is a joke to the middle and lower class, but GREAT if you're filthy rich and don't give a **** about anyone else but yourself.

Answer 5

Bush and his gang are not the ones telling you the economy is good. There are certain indications of a good economy. These indications are good right now. Inflation is low, unemployment is low, and the stock market is up. This does not mean there is not some bad things brewing. I remember the economy was supposed to be doing great when Bill Clinton was in office. I did not see it. It seemed like the jobs were drying up sales were down, and layoffs had started. It took some time before the economy was officially bad.

Answer 6

The housing market is in a major slump, 6.8 million people were unemployed in 2006, interest rates are controlled and manipulated such as mortgages rates etc so this can give us a false sense that the economy is doing well, gas is at an all time high. The war in Iraq is costing us billions and we've yet to see the fallout when our troops come home with physical and psychological problems. People with jobs are happy and they'll remain so until they're unemployed.

Answer 7

The economy is good when you are working. It is a recession when a neighbor has no work. It is a depression when you have no work.
He may have lost that contract with Wal-Mart. That might have been half or more of his crop. Wal-Mart is hard to deal with. That is why when you go to a Wal-Mart store they might have an item this week but you will never see it there again. They try to buy surplus items.

Answer 8

Cleo, the answer is yes and no. If you look at the labor statistics and Wall Street things are good. Domestic production is up. Employment is up. What your seeing is this. You divide the public into fifths or sevenths. All the wealth is going to the upper tiers only. The middle and lower classes are losing ground. Fox news people imply that Lou Dobbs of CNN is a communist. Why don't you watch his show and make up your own mind? Yes, the economy is good, but the middle class is being wiped out.

Answer 9

In my opinion, UMMMM NO. Our economy was better than it had been in years while Hilary was in office(ooppps did i say that)and it has sucked ever since they have been gone. This is personal thing between BUSH and BIN LADEN and i don't agree with our country having to suffer while they play their game with our lives and our children's lives,the state of our economy has everything to do with our children, they r the ones being shorted, on education, that's the big one, how r they supposed to learn everything they need to know if there are cuts being made and the schools are the first to be cut. WHAT HAPPENED to the lottery money going to the schools? Was i not supposed to remember that? Well i do and get very angry every time that i think about it,every time that i think about the cuts being made at the schools, the teachers being pink slipped, or field trips having to be paid for because the kids didn't make enough money on a fundraiser in the beginning of the year so they can go now i have to take money out of my pocket to have my son go on his end of the year field trip, which means he gets less money to spend on souvenir's!!! IN MY OPINION OUR ECONOMY SUCKS!!! C'MON HILARY---GET BACK IN OFFICE

Answer 10

Im confused...you mention Bush in your question but then continue to outline problems in your local area. Are you questioning the economy of The US or that of your local area? because they are not the same.

The US economy as a whole is pretty strong right now. But you need to understand that no matter who has held the Office of president there has still been good times and bad. there is a natural cycle to the economy that has extremes of low times and high times. That is the nature of a free market. Yet still since its inception the growth of our economy has been around 12% a year much outdistanceing inflation. Thats why its important to invest in mutual funds. over the years your money invested in mutual funds will grow higher than even money put into the housing market.

Im sorry things are going badly in your area. That has alot to do more with who you elect into office and the decisions they make then with George Bush.