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February 10, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 30, 2005
/ 29 Kislev, 5766
The most underappreciated story of 2005
By
Rich Lowry
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It wasn't too long ago that the Democrats were comparing President Bush to the alleged mastermind of the Great Depression. Back in 2003, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that Bush had "the worst record on jobs since Herbert Hoover," repeating a talking point meant to get the names "Bush" and "Hoover" within close proximity. If Democrats were to evaluate today's economy in similarly ridiculous Depression-era terms, they would have to hail Bush as the new FDR.
The robust American economy is the great underappreciated story of 2005. Like the purloined letter in Edgar Allan Poe's story, our superb economy is hidden in plain view, mostly ignored by a media that prefer to accentuate the negative and a Democratic Party that, for understandable partisan reasons, is loath to admit that anything could possibly be right in George Bush's America.
The end of the year brought a barrage of good news that it will take Herculean determination to determinedly ignore.
MasterCard reported that holiday sales increased 8.7 percent over last year. Sales of electronics were up 11 percent, and home furnishings were up 15 percent. Purchases exceeding $1,000 increased by 13 percent. The Wall Street Journal noted that economic pessimists harp about median incomes declining, but "judging by these holiday sales, somebody must have money."
Overall, consumer confidence rose in December to its highest levels since before Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast. The price of a gallon of gasoline declined to $2.18, down from $2.26 in November and well below the high of more than $3 in September. Weekly jobless claims are back to their pre-Katrina levels, and workers were earning 3.2 percent more than in November 2004.
Then, there was all the news to ignore from the third quarter of '05: 4.3 percent GDP growth; 215,000 new payroll jobs in November; 4.5 million payroll jobs added since May 2003; fixed investment up 8.6 percent; industrial production up 0.7 percent from October to November.
The unemployment rate is at a level that at one time would have been cause for universal celebration -- just 5 percent -- and according to Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Va.), employment continues to grow at a "healthy pace." All of this comes on top of low inflation and extraordinarily high productivity gains. Heritage Foundation economist Tim Kane calculates, putting all the key factors together, that economically, 2005 is one of the best five years out of the past 25.
Just as blaming Bush for the recession of 2001 was always charging him with being in the wrong place at the wrong time -- the economic downturn and tech crash began before he took office -- he can't get all the credit for a fortuitous turn in the business cycle. (Although President Clinton somehow managed to claim personal responsibility for every tick up in GDP and every tick down in the unemployment rate.) It's the amazing resiliency, and endless capacity for innovation, of the American economy itself that is responsible for the latest spurt in growth.
But one Bush policy in particular did stoke the upturn. As a report of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress explained, consumer spending never stopped growing in the 2001 recession. It was a free-fall in investment that caused the economic stall. Bush2003 tax cuts on dividends and capital gains were meant to recharge that particular engine in the economy, and they did. According to Kane, investment has grown at a rate of 9.2 percent since those tax cuts, higher than the average of 6 percent of the past two decades.
No matter. In the Bush economy, the press specializes in making people feel badly about doing well. The coverage in coming weeks will surely obsess about high home-heating bills. Since no economy can achieve a state of Zen perfection, when spring comes, there will be something else to be discouraged about, perhaps the softening housing market. Recent business surveys show companies are planning to increase hiring in 2006. That's a sign the vigorous economy is set to roll into 2006, appreciated or not.
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© 2005 King Features Syndicate
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