"This VERY good economy"- Bill Bennett

[SoCalDem]

Here's the thing.. PART of the "very good economy" numbers consist of the GOUGING of Americans at the gas pump. Take that out, and I wonder what the "economy" would really look like.. Are there any number crunchers out there who know how to remove the oil gouging figures and recalculate them?

A family with a Mom & Dad who commute to work, has seen THEIR "economy" flatline. the extra money they used to spend at the mall or at restaurants are most likely being sent to Exxon/Texaco/Shell etc.

The public is being manipulated by futures traders and oil companies for their OWN profits.

Should we use less petroleum products? Of COURSE. BUT for the present time, we have few viable options, so they HAVE US. The one thing that's different from the 70's "oil crisis" is that at least back then we HAD leadership in DC. Carter put together a comprehensive plan to wean us off foreign oil and into conservation and alternative power. If people had believed him, we would not be in Iraq, and we would not be in the mess we are in now..

[porphyrian]

1. If you own significant oil stocks, it is.

Sadly, that's less than ten percent of Americans. Probably less than three percent.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Or 'defense' contractors or arms manufacturers' stocks.

[survivor999]

13. Exactly right!

Stocks is the way to go... If you can afford the risk, that is....

[ShortnFiery]

2. Wanna bet Bill my boy?

:rofl:


Yeah, we're all gonna believe the Poster Child of Moral Hypocrisy. :(

[corkhead]

3. I can rest easier now

Bill Bennett tells me the economy is good. I would have been worried otherwise.

[madinmaryland]

4. Its good for the haves and have-mores. n/t

[Warpy]

5. The "very good economy" is actually based on a fake rise in

income and spending, triggered by a transfer through Medicare through providers.

Nobody got a $159 raise, which is what it came out to per capita. Nobody went out and spent more money last month unless it was to gas up the family car, and then they cut back in other areas.

Bennet is just one more fat bastard who is being lavishly provided with tax money to lie to the public.

[SoCalDem]

8. It just frosts my cake when they have NO ONE on to counter

these lies, just tossed out there so casually.. Of course there sat Donna Brazile, smiling but saying NOTHING !!!!

The fact that Bennett and his fellow bloviators are allowed to get away with spreading the manure with impunity, is what makes me CRAZY...

[survivor999]

14. I agree with that

assesment. It's fake.

[area51]

7. Perhaps psychoboy Bennett would like to explain...

... if this is such a good economy, why so many people can't find jobs. Why should anyone believe a holier-than-thou gambling addict who likes dominatrixes? :freak:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Bill "Virtue Gambler" Bennett?

He hasn't crawled under a rock yet?

[hfojvt]

10. prices should be taken care of by the CPI

consumer price index, but I think they take energy out of it because it is so "volatile".

I used to resent people talking about the good economy in the late 1990s. I worked as a temp from 1998 to 2001 and all I heard was about how great the economy was. At some point it might have gotten good enough for me to get a real job, eh?

Gas prices have tripled since 1999 going from 90 cents to about 2.70 but in the last week or so they have "only" gone up by, what, 15%.

[TrogL]

11. Whatever he's smoking, can I have some?

The United States is in a textbook economic crisis.

Its economy is a classic bubble propped up by:

• Deficit government spending for non-infrastructure items (eg. War in Iraq)
  
• McMansions purchased with zero down or existing houses mortgaged beyond their true market value
  
• overinflated stock prices for companies cooking the books (think Enron)
  
• the Chinese buying up everything in sight at bargain-basement prices
  
• inflation caused by inflation caused by inflation...
  

At one time, most people could count upon some sort of lifetime career that would give them sufficient earning power to own a house (with a reasonable expectation of paying off the mortage within their lifetime), one or two basic cars, basic appliances, put one kid through college and a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. This career would be in business, manufacturing or teaching and would require some form of higher education. It would be possible (if you didn't mind living on Mac and Cheese) to get this education with a student loan you could pay out in five years. The economy ran primarily on people buying on-shore manufactured goods.

Those jobs have evaporated. They've been exported offshore, or it's no longer for American companies to compete because they've fallen behind in research and development. I'm sorry, if RCA's cable costs $60 and I can buy the same cable (with an Engrish label) for $2 at the corner store, I'm not left with much choice.

You cannot run a stable economy on McJobs and expect people to pay off their McMansions.

Every economist worth their salt is in a state of stark terror or getting out the :popcorn:.

[KyuzoGator]

12. People who lose $8 million gambling are not economic experts.

Period.

[SoCalDem]

17. Exactly.. and Donna B should have said so ON TV

a la:

"Well maybe Mr Bennett's been hitting jackpots at the casinos again, but the rest of America is rolling snake eyes"..

[otohara]

15. Bad War Makes For Good Economy

didn't he just pan the war recently? Some intellectual he is with these revelations

[Jack Rabbit]

16. Thank you, Mr. Bennett

Most of us wouldn't know that the economy is good unless you Bush Bubbahs told us.