It's Still The Economy, Stupid . . .
buzzflash.com
Remember that phrase, repeat it often, and forward this list to your friends who think the never-ending war is our only measurement of Bush and the GOP.
While Bush has been President:
Unemployment has risen from 3.9% to 6.0%;
42 States will or expect to make Medicaid Cuts;
41.2 Million People in America Have NO Health Insurance;
The number of Americans living in Poverty rises for first time in eight years;
Overall economic growth at 1 percent, the lowest for any administration in 50 years;
The value of Americans' stock holdings down $4.5 trillion and a 30 percent drop in the value of IRAs and 401(k) plans;
A projected budget surplus of $5.6 trillion converted into a deficit of $400 billion;
Bush Budget Will Spend the Entire Social Security Trust Fund Over Next Two Years;
"Consumer Comfort" has dropped from +20 to -20 in one year;
49% of Americans Are "Dissatisfied With The Way Things Are Going in the United States at this time," up from 29%;
Bush Budget Posted First Deficit Since 1997, Predicted Deficits Until 2005;
98% of Pension Funds expected to be Under-Funded;
"Consumer Confidence" continues to drop;
U.S. debt will have "Major International Consequences."
How much more proof do we need?
The U.S. Needs A "Regime Change."
[BuzzFlash Note: A text emailable version is available here.]
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Sources:
States' Budget Woes Fuel Medicaid Cuts; Poor Lose Coverage and Services
October 11, 2002
"Such cost-cutting would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but now it is part of a contraction of the nation's largest public health insurance program. All but nine states have taken -- or are planning -- steps to rein in Medicaid expenditures this year."
washingtonpost.com;
node=&contentId=A9653-2002Oct10¬Found=true
Bush's Broken Promises: Deficit
"In February 2002, Bush released his budget for fiscal year 2003, which included the first federal deficit since 1997. Bush's proposed budget would result in a $106 billion in deficit in FY 2002 and $80 billion in FY 2003. According to Bush administration estimates, the budget will not return to balance until FY 2005. Worse, an analysis of the Bush budget by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted the deficits between FY 2002 and 2005 would be $62 billion larger than White House figures."
democrats.org
Bush's Broken Promises: Social Security
"Bush Budget Will Spend the Entire Social Security Trust Fund Over Next Two Years. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bush uses 'all the Social Security surpluses ... to fund the government for the next two years, and to spend well over $100 billion of Social Security funds in each of the following three years.'[Wall Street Journal, 2/5/02]"
democrats.org
U.S. businesses cut 43,000 jobs from payrolls in September
October 4, 2002
"The U.S. unemployment rate dipped in September even though businesses cut thousands of jobs from their payrolls, the government said Friday, as the labor market continued its stop-and-go recovery."
money.cnn.com
news/economy/unemployment/index.htm
PollingReport.com, National
October, 2002
pollingreport.com
Living on the edge
October 14, 2002
"...The Youngs are among the 41.2 million people in America who have no health insurance. New figures from the Census Bureau show that the numbers, up by 1.4 million between 2000 and 2001, are rising again after a brief dip at the end of the economically fat and sassy 1990s. And while the bulk of those without insurance are the working poor, more than 13 million uninsured people live in a household with income of at least $50,000 a year."
usnews.com
Company Pension Funds Facing Drastic Deficits
October 6, 2002
"According to Merrill, of the 346 S&P 500 companies offering plans, 98 percent are expected to be underfunded by year-end - by a total of $640 billion. Its calculations are based on an 18 percent decline in stocks and 10 percent rise in bond yields, with plan holdings generally 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds."
nypost.com
Global imbalances are "unsustainable" says IMF
24 September 2002
"The International Monetary Fund, which has added its voice to warnings that sooner or later the growing external indebtedness of the US will have major international consequences"
wsws.org
National Debt Chart
lafn.org
The Amazing, Shrinking Budget Surplus
August 27, 2002
"The Congressional Budget Office has slashed its forecasts of government budget surpluses over the next decade by 80 percent in a report that underscored the recent slide in the U.S. fiscal position and provoked furious pre-election finger-pointing on Capitol Hill."
cbsnews.com
Confidence measures say consumer resolve should be faltering, and they just might be right.
September 30, 2002
"Though the nation's unemployment rate is still much lower than the 7.8 percent peak it reached following the 1990-91 recession and the 10.8 percent peak after the 1981 recession, job growth has been dead in the water all year, following nearly 1.8 million job cuts between April 2001 and April 2002.
"Until businesses see a need to expand their production, they will see little reason to hire more workers, meaning job growth could remain stagnant for months, keeping a lid on consumer spending growth."
Poverty on the Increase
October 22, 2002
"For the first time in eight years, the number of Americans living below the poverty line rose last year. According to 2001 Census Bureau data, poverty rates are higher than they were in the 1970s."
reporter-news.com
2002/texas/texas_State_edi1022.html
Joblessness at 30-year low
May 5, 2000
"The U.S. unemployment rate tumbled to a 30-year low of 3.9 percent in April, the government reported Friday, as worker-starved companies raised wages and went on a hiring spree that created 340,000 new jobs."
money.cnn.com
If the Economy Mattered
October 13, 2000
"In orchestrated speeches over the past few weeks, former vice president Al Gore, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt laid down the Democratic indictment of the Bush administration's economic record."
washingtonpost.com
&contentId=A14938-2002Oct11¬Found=true
Public Sentiment Worsens on Economy
October 28, 2000
"Public attitudes about the economy have worsened significantly over the past month, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Now almost six in 10 Americans (58%) rate the economy as poor, while just four in 10 (41%) rate it as good."
gallup.com |
