[Vision2020] Molly Ivins Column (October 24, 2006)

[Tom Hansen]

>From "Creators: A Syndicate of Talent" at www.creators.com -

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By Molly Ivins

AUSTIN, Texas -- Oh, goody. According to the White House press office,
President Bush will spend much of the next two weeks discussing what a swell
economy we have. Did you know that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at
its highest point EVER? And the NASDAQ, ditto. Wow, breathtaking, huh? But
the Dow is not a good indicator of how thing are really going for the
majority of Americans. 

I just love listening to the Bushies play with numbers. When Bush took over
in 2001, he had predicted a surplus of $516 billion for fiscal year 2006.
Last week, the administration announced a 2006 deficit of $248 billion,
missing its projection for this year by $764 billion. Bush said the numbers
are "proof that pro-growth economic policies work" and are "an example of
sound fiscal policies here in Washington." 

This is highly reminiscent of Dick Cheney's recent observation about the
Iraqi government, "If you look at the general, overall situation, they're
doing remarkably well."

Bush's main talking point on the budget is that he "cut the deficit in half"
-- that would be from 2004, the year the White House inflated the projected
deficit for political reasons. Even conservatives disagree. Brian Riedl of
the Heritage Foundation said, "The White House has a track record of
projecting budget numbers to be a lot worse than they end up, which
therefore helps them defeat the gloomy expectations and declare victory." If
Bush does manage to make the tax cuts permanent, it will add more than $3
trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The federal budget would be
virtually in balance if there had been no tax cuts.

Bush's version of "doing remarkably well" includes a trade gap -- now a
record $69.9 billion -- up 2.7 percent since July. "Short of a big
correction in consumer spending, the best we can hope for is that the trade
deficit stabilizes," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich
Capital, told Bloomberg.com. 

Meanwhile, what we see in the economy as a whole is an immense shift of
wealth from the poor and middle class to the very rich. It seems a little
painful to have to point this out yet again after six solid years of it, but
these are lies, damn lies and statistics.

Just to give you an idea of how dependable the Bush numbers are, the
Department of Health and Human Services put out a press release a few weeks
ago telling senior citizens they will have "new options with low costs" and
that monthly premiums in '07 will be the same as in '06. 

"The Medicare prescription drug benefit ... just keeps getting better,"
burbled HHS. They seem to have been taking too much in the way of
prescription drugs. Rep. Henry Waxman, one of the most singularly useful
members of Congress, found that average premiums will actually increase by
over 10 percent next year. And for the lowest-priced plans, average premiums
will be up over 44 percent. "It is not merely confusing arithmetic, it is
deceptive advertising," said Waxman. 

While lightening the tax burden for the rich, other parts of the Bush
economic program continue to undermine the middle class in this country. As
you may recall, in 2005 the credit industry successfully rammed a
disgraceful bankruptcy reform bill through Congress. It's working out just
the way we expected it to: Middle class families are borrowing more than
ever to make ends meet. Most families go under if: (a) they lose a job or
(b) they have a health emergency crisis. 

One attorney sums up the legislation's impact: "It's designed to make life
miserable for anybody who owes money. It's a help-the-banks,
squish-the-little-guy law."

Bush's remarkably good economy is only good for the richest -- for the rest
of us, incomes are stagnant and education and health care costs are
skyrocketing. The Republican Congress blindly rubber-stamps policies
designed to help only a few. Are you better off than you were six years ago?

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Vandalville, Idaho

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"A bad cause will ever be supported by bad means and bad men." 

- Thomas Paine (English Writer, 1737-1809)

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