George W Bush's Rose Colored Glasses

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
August 17, 2005

Contact: Josh Earnest - 202-863-8148

GEORGE W. BUSH'S ROSE COLORED GLASSES:
"I'm Not Worried About Things in Washington."

In a press conference earlier this summer, President Bush declared, "I'm not
worried about things in Washington." Apparently, the American people do not
have the same pair of rose colored glasses as President Bush. The American
people are rightfully worried about shrinking wages, rising "kitchen table
costs", and skyrocketing gas prices.

"Ellen Westbrook, an employment counselor in Asheville, North Carolina, says
she just rolls her eyes when she hears about how the U.S. economy is strong and
getting stronger. 'I've seen 300 manufacturing jobs disappear down here in the
last three weeks,' she says. 'How can I think the economy is good when I am
watching high-paying jobs disappear overseas?'"

POLLS: Americans Disagreed With Bush's Rosy Analysis of the Economy. According
to the most recent AP-Ipsos poll, just 41 percent of Americans approve of the
job Bush is doing on the economy; down from 47 percent in January 2005. A big
part of their worries are due to record high gas prices. The same poll shows 64
percent believe gas prices will cause their family financial hardship and,
despite recent passage of the Bush energy bill, 59 percent say that Bush is not
handling the nations energy problems effectively.

* GOP Strategist: "Americans Won't Believe" Bush's Rosy Economic Rhetoric.
"'You can't tell the American people, Happy days are here again, if they're
angry about gas prices and afraid for their jobs,' says Republican pollster
Frank Luntz, who helped devise and sell the 'Contract With America' that helped
his party take control of Congress in 1994. 'They won't believe it.'"


GAS PRICES: Americans Face Higher Gas Prices and Their Negative Effect on
Economy. Retail gas prices hit another record high over the past three weeks,
mirroring a rapid increase in the cost of crude oil. The average price for all
three grades rose nearly 22 cents to $2.53 in the three-and-a-half weeks ending
August 16. Higher prices for gasoline and other energy products caused
inflation to shoot up in July, even as output at the nations' factories, mines
and utilities slowed sharply. Lundberg, 8/15/05; BusinessWeek, April 15, 2005; AP, 8/16/05]

INFLATION & WAGES: Consumer Prices Are Outstripping Wage Growth. The Labor
Department reported that consumer prices rose faster than most workers' wages
in July as energy costs surged yet again. The Consumer Price Index, which
measures inflation, rose 0.5 percent in July-the largest monthly increase since
April-leaving overall consumer prices 3.2 percent higher last month than they
were a year ago. Wages have lagged by comparison: after adjusting for
inflation, average weekly earnings for private production and non-managerial
employees fell last month by 0.2 percent-which bought 0.5 percent less last
month than they did one year ago. These workers make up 80 percent of the labor
force.

DEFICITS: No Change in Long-Term Shortfall; Deficits Still Predicted to Total
$4 Trillion Over Next Decade. In contrast to Bush's optimistic spin on higher
revenues for 2005, a recent CBO study shows that there has been little change
in the outlook for the budget in coming years. In particular, the increase in
revenues touted by the Administration was mostly caused by temporary factors
such as an increase in corporate tax receipts. More importantly, there has been
no real improvement in the bleak deficit outlook for the next 10 years. When
Bush's proposals to extend his tax cuts and continue to fund the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan are accounted for, projected deficits never dip below $330
billion over the next decade and total $4.0 trillion over the 2006-2015 period.


HOME FORECLOSURES: Home Foreclosures Rose to Yearly High in June 2005-the Latest Figures Available. "The number of properties entering foreclosure nationwide increased to 67,024 in June compared to 62,432 in May. That was the highest number of new foreclosures reported in any one month in 2005, and caused a 7.4-percent increase in the nation's foreclosure rate, with one new foreclosure for every 1,726 households." http://www.realtytrac.com/>

KITCHEN TABLE COSTS: Families Faced Higher "Kitchen Table Costs". "Families are
paying much more for "kitchen table costs" including health care and education.
Brand name drug prices rose last year by more than twice the rate of inflation,
the largest increase in the five years it has monitored prices according to a
study released by the AARP. Under President Bush, health care costs for
families have skyrocketed almost 50 percent and college tuition has gone up
about 36 percent, even taking inflation into account." In fact, health
insurance costs are expected to rise by 12.6 percent this year alone-increasing
the burden on both employers and employees in making ends meet. College Board, 2004; Bloomberg, 8/15/05]

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