Bush and cabal try to blame Clinton for the recession: guess who to blame

[loudnclear]

On the economy: Now the Bushies are trying to blame the recession on a Clinton bubble. All Kerry or the Dems have to do is point out that what actually burst the 'bubble' was Greenspan raising interest rates when there was no inflation in shight...that stopped the boom dead in its tracks. Interest rates, more than "tax cuts" help our economy. That's the only thing that is keeping Bush's economy above sinking right now is that Greenspan has kept the interest rates low. We would be in the same place had the tax cuts not taken place. Just ask what has contributed most to household buying and disposable income: low interest rates not that $300 in tax cuts that were swollowed up in higher state and local fees. Ask any family that bought a new home if it was because of a tax cut or if it was because of low interest. Once you buy a home, you contribute to the economy by buying things for the home. the cange in take home pay from a tax cut is not even noticed but a savings of about $200 per month from low interest rates is.

[Birthmark]

1. Again, * is simply buck passing.

This behavior should be a centerpiece of the Dem strategy against *. He cannot take blame, isn't credible, and is severely out of touch with reality. This claim of his is only further evidence.

[Corgigal]

2. Ok lets test it then

Put Clinton back in for 4 years and see if it gets worst. I haven't met one republican who will take up that bet.

[Brotherjohn]

3. Definition of recession aside, so what if the economy began to slow...

...in late 2000. The fact of the matter is, the economy was still very healthy.

If he were a half-way decent "CEO", he would have been able to at least keep a healthy economy from tanking.

[banana republican]

4. When did Greenspan raise the rates???

[Viking12]

5. Summer 2000

If you look at the Fed rate changes over the last few years you'll be surprised at how closely they precede elections, and how those changes help the Repugs. Big raise in Summer of 2000 to put the brakes on the economy and help *. Big Drop in Summer 2002 to help Repugs at midterm.

[central scrutinizer]

6. and Greenspan will say whatever the Repugs need

First;" the deficit is horrible, we must cut spending (only domestic spending of course) and pay down the debt." Then, "Oh, it is bad to pay down the deficit too quickly with the surplus." as an argument for tax cuts.

[KharmaTrain]

7. And Don't Forget The Oil!

I follow your stringing of the fed & Repugs, but this year rates are still at all time lows and the only salvation this regime has in showing something tangibly positive (low mortgages, loans and re-fis for those who still can cash in)...it's the only thing keeping the housing maket alive that is used to counteract the real bad state of other sectors of the economy.

Speaking to a banker, I am told to expect rates to stay flat (helping the GOOP) as long as they can hold them, however these people are chomping at the bits to see rates hop up a quarter point here and there to start squeezing extra money out of people's pockets (primarily the middle and lower classes). This person went as far to tell me that higher rates this year will help fuel a market boom (artificial, since this will be based on projected earning reports issued before the election that can (and usually) are distorted...similar to the "boom" we saw last year that this regime claimed was the economic turn around.

I watch the price of oil carefully...I firmly believe the price rose sharply in 2000 (the first real spike we had had since Poppy Bush) that fueled the energy mess out west and slowed down the economy. Nothing affects commerce in this country more than increased fuel and transportation costs.

In my tinfoil hat world, I see the current rise as a set up...we'll see gas go to $2.50 or $3.00 a gallon...people will squeal, but in the clamour of the election will be muted...plus people will suck up the extra bucks to keep their SUVs rolling. Then, right after Labor Day (how convenient), the price will drop...maybe back to $2 a gallon, maybe a lot further depending on how things are shaping up with the GOOP. If things look bad for bunnypants, look for $1 gas.

We face a corporate monolith that is deep in bed with this regime and haven't had it so good...and they did it through manipulation...expect this to be a weapon we'll have to fight and feel yet can't see.

[loudnclear]

8. This is what Greenspan had to stop:

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=interest+rates+clinton+administration&page=2&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26amp%3BrequestId%3Ddad73cec770f67f1%26amp%3BclickedItemRank%3D11%26amp%3BuserQuery%3Dinterest%2Brates%2Bclinton%2Badministration%26amp%3BclickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fclinton3.nara.gov%252FWH%252FEOP%252FOP%252FBudget2000%252Fsurplus.html%26amp%3BinvocationType%3Dnext%26amp%3BfromPage%3DNSCPNextPrev&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinton3.nara.gov%2FWH%2FEOP%2FOP%2FBudget2000%2Fsurplus.html

And he did it by raising interest rates in 2000. Yes, the recession started in 2000 with the Fed raising interest rates unnecessarily.
That message is never told by the media because guess who controls the media...the same people who control the banks, the markets, and our Congress.

[denverbill]

9. Funny stuff. Bush was badmouthing the economy in late 2000.

Democrats and others were begging him to stop, saying his constant harping on how terrible the economy was was actually causes people and businesses to stop spending, and businesses to stop hiring. Did he listen? Hell no, cause he knew the only way he'd get his tax cut passed was by framing it as 'necessary'. It's hard to claim a tax cut is an economic necessity when the economy is booming.

Sure enough, 3 months later, in March 2001, the recession actually began.

[liberal72]

10. "Damn you Clinton!!!" - Jon Stewart

n/t

[curlyred]

11. The party of personal responsibility, huh?

What crap.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. There Is No Such Thing As An Economic Bubble

There was a speculative bubble in the stock market, but the GDP growth was real, the job market was near saturation, productivity was up as was P per worker, monetary velocity was at an all time high, and competition for capital was at a 100 year low (because the gov't wasn't borrowing huge sums of money).

That's a REAL economic boom and the current problems ALL began in May of 2001. If someone does a sound multivariate, polydimensional modeling of the macroeconomy, they will find the same things i did.

The Clinton "bubble" is a completely made up term. There is no such thing.
The Professor

[TahitiNut]

13. Amen!

I get livid every time I see the confabulation of 'stock market' = 'economy' or other simplistic nonsense. The GOP's "Southern Strategy" seems to have metamorphosed into a "Confederation of Dunces". :grr: