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Mar. 8, 2006 Left wing zealots who are married to the idea of hating Republicans cannot and will not accept that anything can go well under Republican rule. This is evident in the words of individuals who continue to deny any positive accomplishments in Iraq as well as those who turn a blind eye to any good news on the home front. Those of us who are old enough to remember how Ronald Reagan turned around a miserable economy handed to him by Jimmy Carter and restored pride in the American way, which had all but vanished under Jimmy Carter, know differently. Those of us who think more fairly also remember true welfare reform was reached and the budget balanced when Republicans took control of Congress during President Clinton's regime. The current economic situation is a great example of how everything is presented as rosy when a Democrat runs the White House; however, when Republicans are in charge we are alway in a recession, at least to the main stream media and to most Democrats. President Bush took office in 2000 in the midst of an economy that was already teetering on the brink. Years of "irrational exuberance" (as Alan Greenspan termed it) had taken the stock markets to unsustainable levels. Businesses were spending wildly in the late 90's, investing in computers and equipment and labor in an effort to prepare for the coming boom. The Clinton Administration bragged that it had ended recessions as we knew them. Consumers were, likewise, spending their money, on everything from larger and larger SUV's to 3,500 square foot homes in the suburbs. Designer duds were all the rage. A decade that had started with the grunge look turned into an all out greed fest in almost every way possible. Indeed, the period of 1997-99 was far more like the "Roaring 20's" than is the current period. In fact, the gap between rich and poor in the U.S. actually expanded at a greater rate during the Clinton Administration than it did during the period of Reaganomics. Interestingly, the 1980's are still looked at as a period of greed while the 1990's have never been referred to in that light---another example of the power of the leftward media. During the campaign of 1999, George W. Bush warned of a teetering economy, that it simply could not go on as it was without an adjustment. He was laughed at by Democrats and was roundly criticized for "talking down the economy". He did, however, take office in the midst of a recession. His prediction of a problem had come true, although you would be hard pressed to find anyone in mainstream media who gave him the slightest credit for it. Then, while struggling to turn around the shaky economy handed off by Clinton, the attacks of 9/11 blindsided the U.S. and the world. In mere moments the World Trade Center was reduced to ruins, additional attacks were threatened and the nation shuttered its collective shoulders in thinking about what was in store for its people. The press and others warned of a "new age" where attacks on U.S. soil would be a regular occurrence and others said the economy would take years to recover from the devastation. On top of the carnage of 9/11, the financial frauds of the 90's were revealed and the stock market was further shaken as investors wondered if we could ever rely on financial data that companies produce and could we truly trust in American business again? This was another dagger to the heart of the economic system. Compounding the economic "perfect storm" was the fact that the over investment on the part of businesses during the late 90's resulted in a pullback in business spending in the 2000's. It's not rocket science really, businesses did not need all of the computers, equipment and employees they had spent money on at at time when they too felt there would be no end to the good times, so they stopped buying. When business spending slowed to a trickle in the early 2000's the economic stagnation continued. It was indeed fortunate that the Bush tax cuts had kicked in already. They were some medicine for what was a sick economy. Additional money was placed where it belongs, in the hands of consumers. The result? Consumer spending on cars, computers and other necessities and luxuries actually kept the economy moving during a period where everything could have completely fallen off of the shelf. The low interest rates combined with the additional money flowing to consumers helped drive this. Those who don't believe this either don't understand economics or don't want to believe it. Even now, our economy in the U.S. continues to hum along just fine. Growth, measured by GDP, is strong any way you slice it. Unemployment nationally stands at 4.7%, which is lower than where it was at the height of the Clinton Administration (when supposedly all was well with the world). Interest rates remain relatively low by historical standards and credit is still easily available. Home ownership is at an all time high, with the growth coming at the low end of the spectrum. That's right, more poor people own their own home than ever before. The actions of President Bush and the Republican Congress turned what could have been an unmitigated economic disaster into an economy that is sound and growing. Of course all is not perfect. It never is in the world, despite what liberals might think. It ws not perfect in 1998 either, when Clinton was taking credit for ending recessions forever. Also, Congress passed and Presdient Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in addition to other legislation, which put company executives squarely responsible (including criminally responsible) for any malfeasance or misappropriation under their watch. Confidence was restored in the stock market. In terms of deficits, we would all like to see smaller budget deficits. However, this nation is at war and there is a cost to that war. Those who harp on the deficit should also note that we ran record deficits in the mid-1980's too. Yet, the longest period of peacetime economic growth was ushered in just two years after President Reagan first took office, a period which continued through the 1990's (interrupted by only a very minor slowdown in the early 90's). If there was some cost to be had from those evil deficits of the 1980's nobody ever saw it. The deficits were reduced ultimately, just as they will be again. Don't buy the doom and gloom predictions of those who have their own agenda and have ample reasons to spread their doomsday scenarios. In addtion, Economics 101 says that the only fair way to discuss a budget deficit is in relation to the size of the economy, and budget, as a whole. Given this, the current deficits are not nearly at the record levels reported in the media, which has no incentive to adjust the deficits in real terms. Hidden in these criticisms of our president are the typical left-wing mantra that they cannot let go of, without it they give up their identity. You know what these are: Tax cuts for the rich; policies that favor business over the "little guy"; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (not as long as Clinton is out of office), etc. Whenever you see these messages, a red flag should be raised in your mind. Because, more often than not, these are indicators of emotion-based rhetoric as opposed to actual reason, logic and facts. Indeed, the Great Depression was caused by irrational exuberance like that which dominated the 1990's. Our current president actually put a stop to it and helped usher us all back to reality. Unfortunately, some of us just cannot accept that reality. ------------ About the author: Ed Abraham is a concerned citizen living in flyover country, U.S.A., who happens to be truly disgusted by the loss of common sense in our society and is doing all he can to try to reinstall it. Email: eabra@myway.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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