Monday, September 25, 2006
Bush Economy Just Purring Along
So Ford is laying off workers left and right. GM too. Health care is skyrocketing. Interest rates are up too. But don't worry, those billion dollar tax cuts for the super wealthy are making the economy stronger. Oh, and more people are joining the "ownership society" whatever that means (personally I think it means that big corporations own more and more). Sure. Except, the one thing that people own more of in terms of major assets has decreased in value. The New York Times reports
I'm sure the Rubber Stamp Congress will find some tax or another to cut to help the super rich while appearing to help middle and working-class families. Let's see...cut the estate tax...eliminate the capital gains tax...hmmm...I got it...how about if you earn over $1 million a year you pay no taxes...yeah...yeah...'cause you're doing so much already to help the economy you shouldn't have to pay taxes at all....yeah...I mean...all that wealth that trickles down from your spending and investing is driving the economy already....yeah that's the ticket. No wait...how about no taxes for those who earn over a $1 million dollars and who made a major contribution to George Bush's election campaign? Yeah...I like that..... and then we find out who voted for Clinton, Gore, and Kerry and raise their taxes...yeah...that's the ticket.
So Ford is laying off workers left and right. GM too. Health care is skyrocketing. Interest rates are up too. But don't worry, those billion dollar tax cuts for the super wealthy are making the economy stronger. Oh, and more people are joining the "ownership society" whatever that means (personally I think it means that big corporations own more and more). Sure. Except, the one thing that people own more of in terms of major assets has decreased in value. The New York Times reports
The median price of a previously owned home fell for the first time in 11 years last month, and inventories of unsold homes swelled to levels not seen in more than a decade.The decline in prices should help all those folks with second and third mortages sleep better at night. Home prices don't look to make a recovery anytime soon. According to the National Association of Realtors,
At the end of August, there were enough unsold, previously owned homes on the market that it would take 7½ months to sell them all at the current sales pace. The association said that was a bigger backlog than at any time since April 1993.That should help all the folks planning on using the proceeds from selling their home for their retirement fund sleep as well. On the bright side, maybe more people can now afford to buy a house. Oh wait, interest rates are up and real wages are down, so maybe not.
I'm sure the Rubber Stamp Congress will find some tax or another to cut to help the super rich while appearing to help middle and working-class families. Let's see...cut the estate tax...eliminate the capital gains tax...hmmm...I got it...how about if you earn over $1 million a year you pay no taxes...yeah...yeah...'cause you're doing so much already to help the economy you shouldn't have to pay taxes at all....yeah...I mean...all that wealth that trickles down from your spending and investing is driving the economy already....yeah that's the ticket. No wait...how about no taxes for those who earn over a $1 million dollars and who made a major contribution to George Bush's election campaign? Yeah...I like that..... and then we find out who voted for Clinton, Gore, and Kerry and raise their taxes...yeah...that's the ticket.