A Strong Economy

One of the major themes that Clinton ran on in his second term was the slogan ' it's the economy, stupid'. The economy in the late 90's was on the move, but the sad thing about it, in hind sight, it was founded on thin air. The dotcoms generated so much investment that was based on paper alone, no fixed assets, it was bound to come crashing down. The experts warned us about what was coming, but we were making so much money we were deaf to their shouts of STOP.

As we all know now that in 2001, that sucking sound we all heard was actually the sound of our money going down the huge sink hole that was the 'dotcoms'. I believe the experts estimated we all lost about two and half trillion dollars or more nation wide. Some people lost everything and some people, like me, lost about half of everything that I owned in stocks and mutual funds. Not a good thing when you are in your late fifties, but some people that I know where so heavily invested that they will never be able to retire.

Since those eventful days in 2001, and in the years that followed, the economy has come back with a vengeance. The prime mover was the tax cuts that George Bush made, and the smart moves that Allen Greenspan made with the nations money supply, that gave us this last quarter a GDP of 4.1% growth rate. That was the twelfth straight quarter for increased growth.

Even better maybe, or because of, the unemployment rate is lower than any other time in the last twenty years at 5%. Keep in mind that this is all taking place after the two devastating hurricanes down south.

Even when the economy was supposedly going great guns in the late 90's, and everyone was making a ton of money, the the rate never was below 5.4%. The Democrats, along with their their dogs in the media, point a finger at how bad the unemployment rate is now and how many unfortunate people are out of work, never once indicating or believing that the rate is better than in any year of the Clinton administration.

This new economy, more importantly, is founded on solid ground this time. The past economy, like the Clinton's, was built on thin air and empty promises of better times ahead. Investment in new equipment and stock turn-over in inventories has been the true test of what it takes to build for the future. The stock market has also shown it's metal since the crash in 2001, it has risen almost thousand points. That.you would think, should reassure people that the economy is really on the move, but that is not what one hears when you listen to the media. Just the usual, doom and gloom.

Anyway, a poll was taken to see if people are paying attention to what's going on around them. The findings are very interesting. Unfortunately, I don't have all of the results but what I can attest to, I will deliver.

When asked if you are doing any better now then in 2005 than you where in 2004, 65% of Republicans said YES and 22% said NO. 41% of Democrats said YES and 45% said NO.

Asked what you thought about 2006, over all, 79% of the population surveyed said they thought it would be better, while 10% thought it would be worse.

I wish I still had the figure that showed the break down between the Republicans and Democrats as to the direction the nations was taking and the economy in general. I can tell you that universally, the Republicans see the future, by a large majority, as bright and moving forward, while the Democrats, also by a large majority, see us going in the wrong direction, both on the economy and our foreign policy.

You decide what is going on here. In the face of the facts on the economy that is doing very well and a foreign policy that has proven to be a winner, everyone in the world hates us, the Democrats can not have a positive attitude. They have more money then ever, their jobs are more secure and the future for their children is bright, but they still can't smile or feel good about themselves.

Maybe the liberal puppet masters are pulling too hard on the strings, chocking all of the life out them.