GDP = Grossly Distorted Picture
The problem is that there is no long-term coherent economic plan that deals with peoples' real life struggles and an economy that is quite troubled. In the richest country in the world, more than 34.6 million people (including 12.1 million children) live below what the government says is the "poverty line." But, what about those who live just above the "poverty line" of $18,244 for a family of four? How does a family of four earning the enormous sum of, say, $25,000 clothe, feed, house and educate themselves?
The unofficial unemployment rate of 6.1 percent does not tell us how many millions of people are employed in part-time jobs but who would gladly accept full-time work. More than 2.5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since the current administration took office—56,000 disappeared in June alone. Those were good-paying jobs. In the richest country in the world, 43.6 million people do not have health insurance—more than 15 percent of our families, friends and neighbors have no protection for themselves when they fall ill. A record number of bankruptcies—an estimated 1.7 million—is forecast for 2003.
The Center for American Progress nailed some other trends: declining consumer confidence, wage income down, a disastrous financial picture for the states, and a tax cut bill that will cost $550 billion in 2003.
-JH |
