I just love it when the French looking senator from Massachusetts continually expounds on how bad the economy is. The reality is the economy is growing at a very high rate.
From The Kerry Spot comes more with corrections.
KERRY ECONOMIC AGITPROP 101
Almost every Kerry press release includes some version of the following economic arguments. No matter how many times the Kerry Spot, the Bush campaign, or the media refutes the untrue claims, Kerry and his team just repeat them over, and over, and over again.
"Under George Bush, America has lost 1.8 million private-sector jobs."
Kerry ignores the fact that from 2000 to 2003, the economy experienced the dot-com, high-tech, and stock-market bubbles bursting; the terrorist attacks of September 11 and subsequent war on terror including the war in Iraq; and the discovery of corporate accounting scandals, years in the making, that undermined confidence in corporate America.
He also ignores the fact that the number of new people signing up for jobless benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in more than three years.
The Bush campaign cheerfully points out that since last August, more than 1.4 million new jobs have been created. The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.3 to 5.6 percent, below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Job growth is widespread — employment over the last year was up in 44 of the 50 states, and the unemployment rate was down in 46 of the 50 states.
The Financial Times reported on July 12, "At the Harvard Business School between 91 per cent and 92 per cent of the graduating class had offers on graduation, and 83 per cent of them had accepted a job. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology more than 90 per cent of students had offers on graduation, up from 82 per cent last year. At MIT, campus recruiting by companies was up by 15 per cent and job postings — where companies advertise specific jobs on the school website — were between 30 per cent and 40 per cent higher than last year."
"New jobs that are being created are primarily in low-wage industries."
Balderdash. A new set of numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually shows solid growth in employment in relatively higher-paying occupations including construction workers, health-care professionals, business managers, and teachers, and virtually no growth at all in relatively lower-paying occupations including office clerks and assembly-line workers.
According to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, "Between June 2003 and June 2004, 71.4 percent of the net increase in employment was in three relatively well-paid occupational categories: management, professional and related occupations (23.1 percent); construction and extraction occupations (36.1 percent); and installation, maintenance and repair occupations (12.2) percent."
Real after-tax incomes are up by 11 percent since December 2000. The Bush campaign attributes the increase to the tax cuts and states that the growth by this measure is substantially better than following the last recession.
"At the same time families are making less, the costs of college tuition, health care and college have all soared."
Tuition: Wrong. From USA Today, 06/28: "What students pay on average for tuition at public universities has fallen by nearly one-third since 1998, thanks to new federal tax breaks and a massive increase in state and federal grants to most students and their families.
"Contrary to the widespread perception that tuition is soaring out of control, a USA TODAY analysis found that what students actually pay in tuition and fees — rather than the published tuition price — has declined for a vast majority of students attending four-year public universities. The newspaper concluded, "today's students have enjoyed the greatest improvement in college affordability since the GI bill provided benefits for returning World War II veterans."
Health Care: Conservatives may not love all of Bush's health-care proposals, but one can hardly accuse Bush of ignoring the issue. He's created the Medicare prescription drug benefit, new health savings accounts, added 600 new community-health centers, and allowed states more flexibility with Medicaid.
Increasing health-care costs may have something to do with advances in technology, research, pharmaceuticals. Apparently Kerry believes he can make the medical community keep making breakthroughs and advances without getting any additional money from patients to pay for them.
President Bush proposes reforming the court system to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, including those accusing medical malpractice. Think you will get serious reform of malpractice law under Vice President John Edwards?
College: You're getting redundant, Senator.
"Focusing on values like opportunity, responsibility and fairness, Kerry said at both events today that a Kerry-Edwards administration will fight for good paying jobs and an economy that lifts up middle-class families.
"'Let me tell you what values mean to me and John Edwards,' Kerry said. "Values mean creating opportunity and fighting for good paying jobs that let American families actually get ahead. It means building an America where the middle class is doing better, not being squeezed."
"Kerry and Edwards have a comprehensive plan to create 10 million new, better paying jobs."
Their goal of ten million new jobs over four years would slow the current rate of job growth by one third.
Anyone who reads a newspaper consistently — or the Kerry Spot — can see that Kerry hasn't changed his economic outlook, rhetoric, or prescriptions one iota from last year, or 2002. A challenger needs a bad economy to win, so no matter how well the economy does, Kerry insists it's doing poorly. All of the stock market growth, he contends, is an illusion. The hiring numbers? Lies! Homeownership rates are at record levels? It's a trick! Inflation is low? That's a sign of disaster! Up really means down! Black really means white! Who are you going to believe, Kerry's press releases, or your own lying eyes?
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