Blogging Blue

I know the story itself is a few days old, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Despite every indication that our economy isn’t doing as well as many Americans would like, President George W. Bush seems to think there’s a lot of positives about the economy:

“When will the economy turn around? I’m not an economist,” said Bush, responding to a reporter’s question. “But I do believe we’re growing. I’m an optimist, and there are a lot of positive things about our economy.”

That’s a statement I wish I could ask President Bush a few questions about, because I’d like to pick his brain to find out what exactly he thinks are the “a lot of positive things” about the current state of our nation’s economy. Heck, for all we know, maybe President Bush sees gas at four dollars a gallon, rising grocery prices, failing banks, and a rising unemployment rate as positive things.

Now I’m no economist, so I don’t presume to have the answers to all that ails our economy, but I do know one thing - the solution isn’t maintaining a constant state of denial - as we’ve seen from President Bush, nor is the solution a John McCain Presidency.

No Comments »

A national fiscal burden that now stands at $455,000 per household, that’s what.

Who or what is to blame? Undoubtedly conservatives will point to entitlement and pork-barrel spending as the culprit while seeking to blame liberals, but let’s take a look at some numbers:

This little counter shows the up-to-date cost of the war in Iraq. As I write this, our government has spent more than 500 billion dollars of taxpayer money to fund the war in Iraq, and as I’ve previously noted, the George W. Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and defense spending are responsible for 85% of the rise in our nation’s budget deficits. Entitlement spending, on the other hand, accounts for only 9% of the increase, a fact that belies the argument that entitlement spending is the cause of our budget woes.

What’s more, out of control spending under George “Big Government” Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress (at least from 2001-2006) has resulted in roughly 45% of our nation’s debt being controlled by foreign governments and interests.

$455,000 per household - that’s what Republicans have left us with, and that’s the hole we have to dig ourselves out of in the coming years. So much for Republicans being fiscally responsible.

1 Comment »

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced a resolution last week in the US House of Representatives to impeach President Bush. The Congressman has many articles in his impeachment resolution, from creating a secret propaganda campaign to manufacturing a false case for the War in Iraq to imprisoning children.

The Democrats in both chambers on Capitol Hill are strongly against any such impeachment resolution. Speaker Pelosi has repeatedly stated that any attempts wouldn’t be welcomed in the House.

Personally, I find it sad when an American President can be impeached for a lie about sex in the oval office, but not even considered for such an act when there’s a complete political disaster in the country - from multiple wars to potential liberties being taken away to many cover-ups.

I find it puzzling when the limits of what’s “fair game” flex back-and-forth depending on the political party.

With that noted, I expect Kucinich’s resolution to not go very far.

No Comments »

As I browsed the news this morning, I couldn’t help but notice a headline about the national unemployment rate
posting its biggest month to month jump in over twenty years. The unemployment rate soared to 5.5% in May from 5% in April - much higher than economists had forecast. Additionally, on Friday the Labor Department reported a net loss of 49,000 jobs in May.

As if that wasn’t a bad enough way to start my day, the Dow Jones lost 400 points today after oil prices shot up by more than $11 a barrel and neared $140 a barrel.

If we’re not in a recession yet, it can’t be long before we are, and I blame George W. Bush and his failed economic policies.

3 Comments »

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the current state of our economy, and while some conservatives have argued the economy really isn’t as bad as the so-called liberal media is making it out to be, now comes news that a majority of Americans think the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year has had no impact on the economy:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide say that the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year has had no impact on the economy. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 57% believe that if Congress and the President do nothing more, the economy will be in even worse shape a year from now.

What’s more, a majority of Americans feel the economy won’t get any better even if another economic stimulus package is passed:

However, if another stimulus package is passed, just 17% believe the economy will get better and 21% say it will get worse. Most voters—54%–say that if another stimulus package is passed, the economy will be about the same a year from today. These general views of the stimulus package were largely shared across partisan and demographic lines.

Here’s my take on this: if a majority of Americans don’t believe the economy is going to get better within the next year, then they’re probably going to spend less and save more, which will end up weakening the economy even more than it already is. It’s going to end up being nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy.

4 Comments »