Do you feel we have a thriving economy as Bush stated?

Question

Frankly, with the housing market crash, the cost of gas prices, and the rising cost of electricity and natural resources, I don't see what is so good about it. Maybe during 2003-2005 we had a couple good years, but right now it's a mess.
Of course this is just my opinion. How do you feel about the state of our economy?

Answer 1

As far as the global economy it is good. But what is happening now is the economy is going to crash. I live in Michigan and it hasn't been good since 9/11. Keep in mind that the economist always look at numbers that are like 2 months old. What we need is the fed to cut rates, so we could get inflation in check and maybe even some Deflation.

Answer 2

Unemployment is low and growth has been solid.
There are however some concerns.
First and foremost the source of the positives. Bush fans will swear that it is due to the tax cuts. But some problems arise with this. The tax cuts it is argued would promote investment. These would lead to job growth. But the job growth we have seen in Bush's second term (there was none in his first) have been limited to certain sectors of the economy - largely ones that have benefitted for Bush's deficit spending (eg energy, military contractors). On top of this we have not seen the increase in savings and greenfield investment that Supply Side theory would argue is necessary.
So it would seem that the growth has been largely due to Keynsian factors driven by this administration's increased spending.
The second major issue is the sustainability. Whether of not the spending is the source of the growth it is amassing significant deficits (talk of cutting these deficits mean we borrow less each year - not start paying it back). This money needs to be borrowed and hence incurs interest. This has two negative effects. The government's borrowing creates and extra demand for money, pushing up interest rates and crowding out private sector investment. It also incurs interest which reduces the amount of benefit we can get from our tax dollars going forward.
There are issues with the US economy at present but the real dangers await in the near future without a significant change in policy to debt and spending.

Answer 3

You are right about the housing market crashing.
All who have lived long enough could easily see that coming due to overpaying for real estate by "not-too-sophisticated" investors and loose policies on lending less-than-secure moneys to people who couldn't qualify for a credit card.
Before that we had the big "dot-COM" bubble under the Clinton administration which burst near the end of Clinton's reign, and left Bush wit the tough task of correcting that crash.
That was caused by "investors" gambling on stock issued by companies that never showed a Profit and never had assets to back their stocks. It was tantamount to gambling, or a pyramid scheme.
Before that it was the loan fraud that collapsed the home-loan associations. Another "get-rich-quick" scheme.
These misguided investment schemes date back to well before the "Great Depression" and are always powered by greed and always fail, eventually.
Be aware of them. Don't blame Bush, put the blame where it belongs, on people who want something for nothing.
It WILL happen again, we only have to wait to see HOW it will occur.
Beware of FAST profits. Few win big time and those who do, do so at the expense of many others.
The government should NEVER "bail-out" the losers, it only encourages more fraud at the expense of the rest of us.
They should go after those perpetrating any deception or fraud, but in real estate a "buyer-beware" policy usually prevails.
Regarding gas prices.
The competition for fuel is now world-wide.
China and India have populations in the billions, rapidly improving economies and all want to drive cars.
No thinking person can assume the gas prices will EVER get back to the pre-boom levels. It is the law of supply and demand and the demand will always be greater than the supply.
China and India producelittle to NO petroleum.

Answer 4

You hit the nail right on the head. It's like a game of smoke and mirrors. We're hearing how everything is 'thriving' and yet, there are the issues you raised and even more importantly --- people are living on credit!!! No one seems to own anything anymore -- everything is either mortgaged, leased, or being paid off by 'monthly minimum' payments on credit cards. It's very, very scary. I've been like Chicken Little these past several years, saying "The sky is falling down." No one seems to comprehend the fact that we need to do the simple math -- you can't keep spending $150 when you only have $100!!! You are absolutely right -- the only thing that we can't do is say that Bush is solely responsible because he is engaging in some false representation here. (Do not take this to mean that I am defending Bush, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that he was the best this country could do -- but don't get me started here -- I can't believe we don't have any better talent than what's in the running now either!) No matter who is in charge they will 'huff and puff' their nonsense. At the end of the day we are each responsible for our own fiscal situation. We will never have leadership that will be able to insure our financial success. Some of the fault will be on our leadership and their failure to use fiscal responsibility; but we too need to get real!!!!

Answer 5

The republicans are right. The economy is booming. BUT, the numbers don't tell the whole truth. The price of everything is going up. That means that companies are making more money. The problem is that wages have not gone up. We are getting paid the same and paying more for everything. This benefits only the people on top. Also the unemployment numbers are down. BUT those numbers don't tell the whole story either. Many people (including myself) have had to take a second job to make ends meat. That is where the numbers lie. We have the highest deficit in our nations history. We owe other countries so much money. It's almost like we no longer own our own country. Republicans are either IDIOTS and can't see because of their loyalty to their party. Or they just don't really care about the truth.

Answer 6

A recession looms. The economy did rock for a while and recovered well after 911. The crackdown on illegals, incredibly inflated housing market, creative financing on mortgages, and ever increasing imports from China, as well as the $5 a gallon that gas will soon cost, all add up to some dark days ahead.

Answer 7

The thriving economy relates only to the quarterly profits posted by corporations. These strong profits reflect two different scenarios. One scenario is the corporations that are doing work in Iraq. Remember, these companies were given contracts on a no bid basis. No bid basis means unlimited profit. This includes oil companies! Second, companies that outsource your jobs overseas to reap the cheaper labor & then ship the products back to America & charge the American people the same as they did when it was "made in America". Corporate America owes the American people, Thru their hard work they made these companies what they are today. Oh, i forgot one thing, the tax breaks for the wealthy. That in it's self made their economy thrive!
As for the working middle class, their economy is stagnate, going nowhere!

Answer 8

We have a thriving economy as Bush has stated. Based on unemployment, the value of the dollar, the consumer price index, and the vast majority of all other variables used to measure the economy, we are well into a growth cycle. It isn't quite as vigorous as maybe 2004, but it's growth.

The cost of gas stinks, and so does the cost of electricity, but in general, you are better off with a job and high gas prices, than no job, and cheap gas.

The housing market hasn't crashed. Ask someone in LA or North Dallas or Phoenix what their house value has done lately. It's gone up, more dramatically than it should have as well. New house building has gone crazy in most major metropolitan areas of Texas. There are small pockets where over-building and speculation have dropped the market, but not when you look at the general normal person in a normal town's house.

If you were sitting on a house you couldn't sell, or were laid off yesterday, or were trying to pay for gas on a really low yearly income of something like 18k because you are inexperienced, or working in menial labor jobs, then, $2.50 for gas is going to be painful. However - there's over 300 million Americans. The health of the economy is based on the overall average.

Bottom line - Bush is right. It's not a mess. It's fine.

Answer 9

It's not a matter of how any of us feel. The facts speak for themselves. The Dow has reached record highs recently, unemployment is down in all but one state (Michigan), GDP is high. All the indicators of a strong economy are there. My personal economic outlook is better than ever, in spite of living in Michgan. It's not a feeling, it's a fact.

If you want to bash Bush, do it with something with some teeth: amnesty for illegals, the prescription drug entitlement bill, the lack of movement on solving the social security mess. You just aren't going to gain traction on the economy. Just the way it is.

Answer 10

It`s so hard to say because accounts are trained to make their reports make things look a certain way. Those of the top echelon anyway. I think that the strength of the dollar against all foreign currencies is the best indicator. I might be wrong but I think that it`s slipping. We don`t hear much about the inflation rate anymore, but that is very important.