George W. Bush will be the first President since Herbert Hoover to. . .

[Cary]

leave office with the country having fewer jobs than when he entered office.:nopity:

P.S. That's no pity for shrub--lot's of pity for us for what shrub has done to our nation.

[SoFlaJets]

1. That's Bill Clinton's fault

get with the party line there Cary wassamattau?GWB is not responsible for anything bad that ever happened or will happen- now go to the corner and put that dunce hat on and then write it on the blackboard 100 times sheesh...

[Cary]

4. Silly me. But note. . .

that shrub is leaving office!:bounce:

[kalian]

9. What the poster meant (in jest)....

was that the repukes will ALWAYS blame it on CLinton...or his\penis, whichever they can think of first.

[buckeye1]

2. The policy is on tract.

This is music for Greenspan and the supply siders. Stealing the product of labor is the goal. Beating down compensation is the way.

[tom2kpro]

6. Beating down compensation is the way.

I am afraid that you may be right there. I fear that our government and the Federal Reserve Bank folks are more concerned about inflation than they are about anything else.
[]
I sometimes wonder if keeping inflation down to a minimum is why both parties are so weak on controlling illegal immigration and do everything to protect our continuing supply of cheap goods from China and other low-cost producers.
[]
When we read that productivity has risen, some of that may involve efficiencies from good use of computers, but we all know that much of it is simply that folks are just working harder and longer at their private sector jobs. We do not get much vacation in this country relative to Western European countries.

[lovedems]

3. Net Job Loss doesn't seem like a term he will familiarize himself with.

I saw Raciot on the Today Show this morning trying to make good news of the job growth numbers. I swear, it was funnier than watching Chapelle do stand up.

[Cary]

5. At his peril.

Shrub is out of touch. Methinks this will be a great issue in the coming months.

[Vogon_Glory]

7. How Dubya Will Be Judged By Historians

I believe that if the Republic continues, George UU Bush will be remembered as the worst US President since Warren G. Harding.

[jacksonian]

8. sheesh, Harding was a statesman

compared to Shrub, Haliburton makes Teapot Dome look like a Sunday social. More like move over James Buchanan, it's a whole new class of bad.

[nedlogg]

10. You guys just don't get it . . .

Through unemployment and outsourcing, Bush & Co, are and their infinite wisdom are attempting to create a giant "Leisure Class" for all of us formerly hard workers.

Imagine a string of endless days of leisure with noting to do but watch TV, read books, sleep in, and live the good life we could only once dream about.

After the "irrational exuberance" which had some of us fending off job offers of the 90's, don't you think we all need a good rest?

[Centre_Left]

11. Caveat

The employment numbers when Bush took office were not sustainable and would have fallen regardless of the policies he decided to pursue. No president could have maintained them. In early 2001, the employment rate was 4.2%, well below the natural rate of unemployment. Most of the subsequent job losses occured directly as a result of the collapse of the enormous investment bubble built up during the late 90s. Bush probably has exacerbated the problem, but the blame cannot be placed at his feet alone or really anyone.

I only point this out because I feel that its critical to understand all of the reasons for economic problems such as unemployment (bubbles, malinvestment) rather than reducing them to simple black and white issues.

[mastein]

12. Good analysis

and I agree that we were in fact due for a downturn, and maybe even a somewhat steep one after the run up of the late 90s. Add to that the sharp sudden downturn that was post 9/11/01, and you have some real problems. No rational person would disagree.

However, we are now 3+ years into the Bush administration (what I have referred to either as the current cabal or shrubbery depending on mood). The current administration has chosen a course that is not prudent and leans heavily toward making their friends rich at the expense of good policy. These policies are starting to come home to roost in a variety of ways, be it higher prices for energy products, or the huge deficit/debt, (and soon to follow will be massive interest rate hikes as the debt continues to spiral.) Please note it generally takes a good couple of years for economic policy to translate to results that can be analyzed, and quite honestly, the results just don't pass muster. (I use a rational average person test, rather than the one Wall St. is using.) The plan, no matter how much the WH talks it up, just hasn't worked. The jobs market is still a major concern, and if the economy had been handled correctly in the last 3 years that would not be the case.

[Cary]

13. Yes, but. . .

1. So what? The buck stops here, right? There's a little thing called "accountability", and it's something I want in a President. That's the way it goes with the economy. That's politics.

2. Why do I, and everyone I know, always do better under Democrats? It's because Democrats policies tend to level the playing field, rather than favor the ultra-rich.

3. Let's face it. Supply side economics is b.s. At the end of the day the stimululus is always attributed to traditional Keynesian analysis.

4. Huge deficit spending isn't good. Period. End of story.

[mastein]

14. Replies

1) Agreed, and thought that was what I getting at in my first missive. Yes, he inherited bad circumstance but he made them much worse by shaping policy around his buddies rather than by what was proper policy decision for the time and place.

2) Several recent study just backed you up on both Wall street and the Jobs market.

3) Agreed. Grover Nordquist is not an economist. He is a dufus

4) Under Keynesian models, we do need some deficit spending, granted, but look at a) what the spending is on, b) the quantity of the spending and any rational person would agree with you.

PS Love the avitar. I grew up not too far from Lake Forest (Mundelein) and got to meet several of the Bears on the SuperBowl team.

[TN al]

15. I work with a woman whose

Husband just received 30 day notice of plant closure. She is
near tears. She refuses to believe that downsizing is a result
of bush economy. I used to wonder how happy these blue collar
voters who voted for bush were after their jobs were
downsized. She still thinks her vote for bush was the right
vote. I am left just shaking my head.