posted April 07, 2006 03:29 PM            

I've heard these twits utter some of the most foolish nonsense over the last 3 years...depression, recession, slow economy, bad economy, faltering economy and yet, the economy just keeps expanding. It's a great economy.

In fact, the economy is so good the Fed has been raising interest rates to slow the economy down and keep inflation low. The Fed has made it's 15th consecutive quarter-point move, which left the federal funds rate at 4.75 percent, its highest level since April 2001.

Perhaps it's not so great for the leftist morons in the American press who have seen their profits falling like a rock because they've lost credibility with the public who are deserting them in droves but for most Americans, they're upbeat and showing a high confidence level about economic prospects.

In any event, I'm all for leftist democrats trying to make a case for a bad economy because it flies in the face of what Americans see going on in the real world.

Friday, April 7, 2006 12:23 a.m. EDT
Pelosi Sour on U.S. Economy Despite Facts

With U.S. economic numbers on the rise and continued growth in many sectors, the Bush administration is rightly proud of the expanding U.S. economy.

But that doesn't mean it is without its critics.

Despite the lowest jobless figures - 4.7 percent unemployment - in 4 1/2 years, and the continued rise of consumer confidence, a prominent Democrat says Bush is leading the American economy in the wrong direction.

"President Bush should ask American families, millions of whom are struggling to make ends meet and going deeper in debt, if they believe that there is 'an economic resurgence that is strong, broad and benefiting all Americans," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday.

Pelosi claims the Bush tax cuts that have led to economic growth are only benefitting a certain segment of the U.S. population.
"With tax cuts for the wealthiest few causing red ink as far as the eye can see, incomes falling, and our jobs moving overseas, the economic record of President Bush is dismal for middle-class families," Pelosi said. "The Bush economy is going in the wrong direction: gas prices are sky-high and health costs are an overwhelming burden for too many Americans."

Although Pelosi claims jobs are going overseas, there appear to be quite a few people gainfully employed in the United States. Friday's statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor show, according to The Associated Press, "employers added 211,000 jobs in a springtime hiring burst that benefited almost all sectors of the economy and lowered the national unemploment rate to 4.7 percent."

The accelerated economic expansion has put Americans in the mood to buy, as consumer confidence has risen for the second consecutive month and consumers are in a generally good frame of mind for spending and investment.

Still, Pelosi portrays the economy through a warped looking glass.
"Democrats will not compromise our national security with mountains of debt owned by foreign governments, or undercut our domestic strength with an America that only works for the few. Americans are demanding change and Democrats have a better plan - an America that works for everyone."

More Republicans are also employed in the House, Senate and White House, which may be the real reason why Rep. Pelosi is in such a foul mood about the nation's economic vitality.

posted April 07, 2006 08:14 PM              

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Study: Bush tax cuts making rich richer
Report: The wealthiest Americans are reaping huge gains from reduced taxes on investment income.
April 5, 2006: 12:24 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - President Bush's tax cuts for investment income have significantly lowered the tax burden on the richest Americans, reducing taxes on incomes of more than $10 million by an average of about $500,000, according to a report Wednesday.

An analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by The New York Times found that the benefit of the lower taxes on investments was more concentrated on the very wealthiest Americans than the benefits of President Bush's two previous tax cuts.

The Times analyzed IRS figures for 2003, the latest year available and the first that reflected the tax cuts for income from dividends and from the sale of stock and other assets, known as capital gains.

According to the study, taxpayers with incomes greater than $10 million reduced their investment tax bill by an average of about $500,000 in 2003, and their total tax savings, which included the two Bush tax cuts on compensation, nearly doubled, to slightly more than $1 million.

These taxpayers, whose average income was $26 million, paid about the same share of their income in income taxes as those making $200,000 to $500,000 because of the lowered rates on investment income.

Americans with annual incomes of $1 million or more reaped 43 percent of all the savings on investment taxes in 2003. The savings for these taxpayers averaged about $41,400 each.

The newspaper's tax cut analysis showed that more than 70 percent of the tax savings on investment income went to the top 2 percent, about 2.6 million taxpayers.

Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said after seeing the new figures that "these tax cuts are beyond irresponsible" when "we're in a war; we haven't fixed Social Security or Medicare; we've got record deficits."

posted April 07, 2006 08:16 PM              

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Grim Economic News Gets Grimmer
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A8
Friday, March 31, 2006
Dave Zweifel
You probably saw the story the other day that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that real wages in 2005 had dropped 0.9 percent from the year before.

That was big news because in 2004 overall real wages were flat. For the first time as long as wage records have been kept, American workers' income had not increased in two straight years.

There was other disturbing economic news that came at about the same time but didn't get as much publicity.

For instance, the Federal Reserve not so surprisingly found that "growing numbers of American households face mounting debt and financial instability."

Roughly 76 percent of households carry a debt load averaging $55,300 or about 128 percent of the median household income. That's not surprising either since costs for health care and education alone have been rising well above wage increases, not to mention the cost of gas for the car and natural gas for the furnace. Many American workers are now sacrificing annual raises so that their employers can afford to pay the increases in health insurance.

All of that has caused a 10 percent average family increase in credit card debt and a proliferation of bigger home equity loans -- almost all of it, of course, in America's middle class.

Many economic analysts see rising costs, plus greater job instability at some of the traditional blue collar corporations in the country, forcing many families to borrow on high-cost credit just to stay even. They can only hope that times will get better so that they can pay off that debt.

And, of course, the economy of the past few years has significantly widened America's infamous gap between rich and poor. America's wealthiest 10 percent experienced a net worth increase of 6.1 percent in 2004 to an average of $3.1 million. But the bottom 10 percent had their net worth fall from zero in 2001 to minus $1,400 in 2004, which means that they owed more than the value of their assets.

Despite fact like these, President George W. Bush came to Milwaukee recently and announced that as far as the economy is concerned, "We're just doing fine." The economy is "strong and gaining steam," he added.

Makes you wonder who in the world this man is talking to.
http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:2006:03:31:549330:EDITORIAL

posted April 07, 2006 10:16 PM              

Business are not busy where I live.

How many people have just stopped looking for work? THe classified section is a huge joke as far as finding a job goes - a couple of pages at most. What kind of jobs are in there you ask? Well if you love gas station attendant, telemarketing, and waiting tables it's just up your alley.!