You just don't know how ROBUST the economy really is....

[radfringe]

Bush heads to Illinois to tout economy
1/30/07
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=6008082&nav=0s3d

WHITE HOUSE: President Bush kicks off a two-day focus on the economy with a trip to Illinois.

Bush will showcase a Caterpillar plant in Peoria as an example of how his administration's trade agreements and tax breaks can boost global sales and create jobs for American workers.

Some experts say the president is taking too much credit for a sales surge that helped the construction and mining equipment-maker post record earnings and create thousands of new jobs.

Tomorrow, Bush will give what's billed as a "State of the Economy" speech on Wall Street. The president's spokesman, Tony Snow, says :rofl:Bush is focusing on the economy this week because many Americans don't realize how robust it is.:rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

1. ironic isn't it?

the corps are making huge profits on the backs of the American worker who is putting in longer hours for less money

no wonder we peons just don't realize how 'robust' the economy is, we can't raise our heads long enough to find out

:cry:

[Stephanie]

2. Where did they get this buzzword "robust?"

They are overusing it to death, along with "serious," which David Brooks is really overworking. "Serious" people agree with him. Everyone else is just silly.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Heh heh .. heh heh... you said 'bust'

That's about how sophomoric they are in pushing words on us to 'catapult the propaganda' as the chimpster himself said was his job

[Lasher]

7. Yep, did you notice the new slogan for his health care nightmare?

It's "Level the playing field." See, we're all competing with each other to get health care. The one who has the best coverage wins! Not fair if you have good health care from your employer but we'll fix that by eliminating your coverage. Get it? If you have good health care, it's your fault if I don't.

"I am a uniter, not a divider." - George W. Bush

[radfringe]

8. there's a part in an old Kurt Vonnegut story

where the "playing field is leveled" -- (sorry can't remember the story)

have good hearing? the gov't slaps blaring horns on your ears

eyesight 20-20? you get to wear huge glasses with lenses as thick as soda bottle bottoms

you get weights added to your body if you can move around pretty good

[BluePatriot]

13. Right, I remember that one

"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron

"The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal."

[JHB]

5. Because "zesty" isn't scheduled to be used until March

They'll trot that out for sweeps week (and the attack on Iran).

After all, everybody loves "zesty".

:evilgrin:

[radfringe]

6. I'm not going to get excited about the economy until

"It's FABULOUS"

[Lasher]

4. Back by popular demand, it's Junior's 2007 Night is Day Tour!

Looks like Peoria is the first stop on the tour. He'll be performing old favorites from his Black is White album like We've never been stay the course, George and We found the weapons of mass destruction. And who could forget I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees and The tax cuts are working?

Ticket availability limited to the 28% of the country who have recently discussed the economy with Elvis while staring into vehicle headlights. Contact Peoria GOP Propaganda Ministry to apply.

[Stephanie]

9. Oh fuck! He's going to Wall Street today?

I work down there, damnit! Maybe I should call in sick today...

[radfringe]

10. bring a umbrella

cause he's going to "trickle down" on all of you

[ProfessorGAC]

11. From A Scientific Perspective, Let Me Say. . .

. . .that it's not robust. Growth is mediocre, job creation is mediocre, and the expansion of middle class consumption capability is poor.

In addition, since there are NO ECONOMIES WITHOUT PEOPLE, THEN IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO JUST NOT KNOW! If they're part of it, and things are good, they know! If they're part of it, and things are poor, they know. It's not a matter of not getting it!

Well, except in the case of Silverspoon and his puppet masters.
The Professor

[Lasher]

14. That's right, the economy is mediocre at best.

I do believe the average unemployment rate for 2006 was 4.6%. That's better than any of Junior's preceding years but it should be remembered that the rate was 4.0% during the year before The Decider took office according to Table B-42 of the 2006 Economic Report of the President.

It's a little late to start claiming the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts have created jobs. In early 2001, the President's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) announced that if the first round of Bush's $2.1 trillion income tax cuts were passed quickly, it would result in the creation of 800,000 additional jobs by the end of 2002 due to the tax cut alone.

And, once again, in February 2003 the President's CEA assured that the adoption of a second round of Bush tax cuts would create 1.4 million additional jobs - 510,000 in 2003 and another 891,000 for 2004 - all solely attributable to the tax cuts.

All total, that amounts to a Bush promise of 2.2 million jobs created between 2001 and 2004 as a direct consequence of passage of the $2.1 Trillion tax cuts mostly for the rich.

Between January 2001 and December 2004 the U.S. economy added only about 800,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. To put that in context, about 2.1 million jobs were added to the economy annually over the previous two decades, including intervals of recession. During the first four years of Bush's tenure, just a tenth of that number of jobs were created each year.

Even with this typically low bar that Junior set for himself, he promised this job creation would occur before the end of 2004. It didn't, so it's just a tad disingenuous to start saying now that the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts created jobs.

You would think that with all that deficit spending there would be more job creation. But I guess the potential of these knuckleheads to hose up the economy should not be underestimated.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. My Info Is Rooted In Multivariate Models

I've been building models of the macroeconomy since the late-70's. I don't rely on the reports from any gov't agency, only the raw data from same. There is too little science in the reports generated by Commerce or Treasury and too much vested interest in getting the "right" report in the investment economist community.

They've undergone revision, but it's easy to reload the data and run all the old data through the revised model.

The upshot is that it gives an equation of a line that is indexed to overall economic performance. The equations are then plotted against all others to create a distribution of performance.

These last 5 years have been as low as the five years in the late 70's to early 80's, and those of the early to mid-50's. And, people were screaming for Carter and Truman's head because of those economic conditions. In fact, the only period that was measurably inferior to this last 5 years was the Depression. Now, it's good?

Go figure.
The Professor

[Lasher]

23. Ouch, you're hurting me.

Almost threw a rod in my little tiny hick brain with that Multivariate Models thingy. If you have published results of your research will you please tell me how I can access your work?

I am particularly interested in hard numbers from unimpeachable sources that are delivered in simple vehicles such as charts. Here is an example of the type of output I find suitable for this purpose.

I'm assuming my target audience to be those who believe Junior's economy has been anything else but a disaster. Many of them just learned to walk upright. It is prudent to 'dummy down' at times, as effective communication is transmitting and receiving.

Notwithstanding the questionable manipulation that occurs, I consider the Economic Report of the President suitable for that purpose. I'd rather live with relatively minor distortions than have to argue with some knuckle dragger who complains about my data coming from 'some commie perfesser summers'.

I'm just so sick of listening TO people claim there is a 'Bush boom', and that supply side economics were ever anything more than an attempt to find moral justification to take from the poor and give to the rich. The facts actually scream otherwise. Holy cow, it's amazing these people even have the guts to bring up a subject like the stock market.

I always like to see you weigh in on a topic here, ProfessorGAC. I think I would have enjoyed one of your classes. Betcha I woulda got an A+.

Lasher

[blondeatlast]

27. Actually, "mediocre" is an excellent word in this case.

Doesn't carry the negative connotation of "crappy" but I guarantee the Kennebunkport Kowboy doesn't want to hear it applied to him or his agenda. :rofl:

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Dupe

.

[dysfunctional press]

15. well...there certainly do seem to be A LOT of trucks on the road.

my aunt, now dead, who used to live in iowa, and could see i-80 from her porch, used to comment on how she could tell how well the economy was doing- based on the number of trucks she could see using the interstate.

when things are good, lots of things are being shipped- which means lots of trucks on the road.

[Robbien]

17. The difference being who made the goods inside those trucks

If the goods where all made in Taiwan instead of Kansas the "robust" economy can only really be claimed by Taiwan.

[dysfunctional press]

18. but there are still people making money on the goods here in the u.s.

and even when unemployment is at 10%- it means that 90% of the people(i.e. the vast majority) ARE still working.

[Robbien]

20. Sure, many are working. In fact I know of many who are now working 2 jobs

Funny when people talk about how many jobs there are they say of course unemployment must be low. But if there are plenty of $6/hour jobs and one person is working two of them, unemployment is very very high.

They don't count up how many people who aren't working. They do the opposite. They subtract the total number of jobs available from the estimated total working population to get a number of how many are unemployed.

You have fun sitting on your nice comfy porch relaxing watching everyone around you wearing themselves out doing two jobs. You sit there along with BushCo smirking while lying about how ROBUST the economy is.

[dysfunctional press]

21. i don't have a porch.

and i'm only 46- but i've seen the economy MUCH WORSE than it currently is.

here's another informal gauge- how many people are living communally? most people i know live in/as a single family unit- not even multiple generations in one household, let alone any "boarders".

there have ALWAYS been the doom-and-gloom types screaming that the sky is falling and total economic collapse is imminent- guess what....we're all still here.

[Robbien]

24. what nonsence

such hyperbole.

No one is screaming doom and gloom and sky is falling, except you in your apparent attempt at misdirection.

You just go back to dreaming of the Bushy ROBUST economy.

[dysfunctional press]

26. you're not listening very hard...

plenty of people are claiming that the economy is totally in the shitter.

i just don't see it.

[Marr]

19. Yeah- most of you peons haven't seen your CEO's new yachts.

[borlis]

22. Oh it's so robust alright. Here in Illinois

we use ComEd for our electric. Well, they have had a rate freeze for the last 10 years. Now the 10 years are up and they are raising rates between 24 and 48%! I can't wait to see how much my next electric bill is. Robust Economy?? I'd like to ask him why then are so many people I know talking about the way it seems we are backpedaling and never getting ahead? Fuck him!

[lectrobyte]

25. Another sign of the robustness.

Housing Vacancy Rate Hits New Record (2.7%)

The vacancy rate for ownership units has hovered near 1.5 percent for 50 years. It had never previously crossed 2.0 percent. The most recent Census Department estimates means that there are more than 2 million ownership units sitting vacant. In most cases, this means that an owner is paying a mortgage on a home for which they are collecting no rent.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x23620

[npincus]

28. Chimpy's joke is funnier than Hillary's