Has the Bush Administration Done Well with the Economy?

Question

The headline on a recent Gallup report was “Americans’ Economic Pessimism Reaches Record High.” The report shows a nation deeply unhappy with the state of the economy.

Right now, according to the report, 27% of Americans rate current economic conditions as either excellent or good, while 44% say they are only fair and 28% say they are poor. Moreover, “an extraordinary 78% of Americans now say the economy is getting worse, while a scant 13% say it is getting better.”

Bearing in mind that the economy isn’t in recession (yet?), and consumers haven’t felt the full effects of $98 oil (wait until they see this winter’s heating bills) or the plunging dollar, which will raise the prices of imported goods.

The response of those who support the Bush administration’s economic policies (see many answers below) is to complain about the unfairness of it all. They rattle off statistics that supposedly show how wonderful the economy really is. Many of these statistics are misleading or irrelevant, but it’s true that the official unemployment rate is fairly low by historical standards. So why are people so unhappy?

The answer from Bush supporters is to blame the “liberal media” for failing to report the good news. But the real explanation for the public’s pessimism is that whatever good economic news there is HASN'T TRANSLATED INTO GAINS FOR MOST WORKING AMERICANS.

Answer 1

Hell no!

*Over two million homes sitting empty because no one can buy them.

*NINE TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT.

*American dollar at its lowest value EVER.

*Stagnant wages

*Quality jobs outsourced overseas

*Continued corporate welfare to America's wealthiest companies posting record profits.

*Subprime morgage meltdown with repercussions, layoffs throughout the industry

*Highest price for a barrel of oil EVER

*No research and development on alternative energy

*Credit crunch for American consumer

*LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF SAVINGS FOR AVERAGE AMERICAN EVER

Answer 2

Bush gets more blame than he deserves, although he does deserve some. Here are some FACTS that you can make of what you will: - Free unfettered markets are the most efficient. The USA, Canada, all of europe, England, Russia, China (pretty well everyone) has been reducing tariffs, regulations and other market constraints (and realizing huge returns) for 20+ years. Unfortunately, it also increases risk because markets cannot keep rising. Unregulated financial markets led to weird new derivatives related to the housing market in the USA which was seen to be infallible and capable of incessant growth and secure. Well it wasnt any of those things. Collapse of housing plus weird derivatives caused a stock market crash and a huge negative shock to the USA economy, European economy and other large and small economies tied to the US stocks - 911 caused major concerns, disrupted business, increased costs of lending and so forth - War is usually quite profitable. I am really not sure how Bush managed to turn War into a money eating monster. - The Euro crisis occurred. Economic issues are no longer domestic, they are international, they cross borders. US housing crisis affected europe, Euro crisis affected USA and the sh1t went into a nice downward spiral. - The 1990s are the golden era of the USA. With the fall of the USSR the USA became the undisputed champion of absolutely everything. Including economic strength. Furthermore, the USA was exceptionally well positioned with its financial strength coupled with worlds largest economy, most advanced products and R&D and its early adoption of globalization. All which allowed for the USA to just grow and grow and grow and be merry. By the time 2000 came round however, there was introduced the competition of China, Euro and other very large economies that were catching up to and eating away at the economic dominance of the USA. So, where exactly do you go when you are on top? Only way is down. Due to increased competition. Coupled together and all occuring at the same time caused major troubles. Furthermore, there are not many recessions that recover quickly. A recession that occurs at a time of general economic stagnation will have a much harder time recovering. It is unknown whether the USA can innovate enough to reclaim its position of the 1990s but it cannot be said that Bush is entirely responsible.

Answer 3

I find it amazing that some people blame the media for how the population feels about the economy. Every time I hear about the economy on the news, they always talk about economic indicators being great. The problem is that the average citizen doesn't judge the economy based on economic indicators. They see their salary not going as far as it did 4-5 years ago. They see gas at $3.29/gallon. They see rents for a 2 bedroom apartment going up to $2500/month, or 3 bedroom houses going for $800,000 in bad neighborhoods.. They see their grocery bill at $200/week. Inflation is low, but their salary still isn't keeping up with it. They see trillions of dollars being spent on an unpopular war.

Answer 4

Pessimism is the general attitude, and says nothing about the economy except for how the media has been portraying it.

Perhaps a better measurement would be the Dow (record high) or unemployement rate -lowest since Clinton's FIRST year (result of Reagan).

Answer 5

I hate Bush, but he doesnt have much to do with the plunging dolalr
you can blame that on the monetary policy of fiat currency

Answer 6

My theory is that we won't know for at least a couple more years. The "pessimism" of which the report speaks (quite happily, I'd like to point out) is that of people who don't understand how remarkably well the economy is truly going. Don't yammer at me about housing and oil -- last time I checked, those weren't exactly the biggest indicators of economic prosperity. Furthermore, how does a large number of people saying something make that thing true? My favorite analogy for that one is slavery: a bunch of people thought it was a good thing, and quite a few more thought it was at least tolerable. I defy anyone here to tell me honestly that they think it was a good idea.

Answer 7

I believe that the news media is more responsible for the public uneasiness about the economy than the president. If some people are told something often enough especially by the news media they will begin to believe it and be less inclined to make purchases than if a robust economic forecast was made. It is no secret that the news media has a vested interest in who is elected president and I believe you can research recent data about party affiliation by news reporters and find that about 80% are registered democrats.

Answer 8

No were not in recession we are in stagflation which usually occurs after a economic boom "see the last 6 years". That is the way the economy works boom bust the boom had to end and if they think it is bad now when we have a %5 unemployment rate they'll crap if it hits %10.

You'll now when we are in a depression.

Answer 9

the Bush Admin doesn't care about the economy as long as there is tax money to waste on a scandalous military hardware and ruinous war

Answer 10

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2007, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent. The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the advance estimates issued last month. In the advance estimates, the increase in real GDP was 3.9 percent ...

The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, equipment and
software, federal government spending, nonresidential structures, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a negative contribution from residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2007/pdf/gdp307p.pdf
It won't be the first attempted by scare tactics in the run-up to an election.

Not only has growth continued, it increased in Q3 in multiple areas. PCEs rallied to a 2.7% increase, almost double from Q2. Export growth almost tripled from Q2, from 7% to nearly 19%, thanks to the weak dollar. Private inventories grew almost 1%, up from 0.22% in Q2. Real sales increases ticked up slightly, from 3.6% in Q2 to 3.9% in Q3. Gross domestic purchases increased 3.4%, compared to 2.4% in Q2.

In fact, the last two quarters show strong growth, after the soft Q1 number of 0.6%. There may well be weak points in the American economy, but it hardly looks like a moment for panic. The growth seen over the last two quarters gives every indication that the Bush-era expansion continues apace, and that our economy remains resilient and strong.