OPINION & EDITORIAL
Democrats cringe at recovering economy
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Also by Nicole Marklein:
- College Repulicans: Vote for four more years (November 2, 2004)
- Legislators: Override Doyle on conceal and carry (January 22, 2004)
- What is 'African American?' (January 29, 2004)
- Cultural differences run deep (February 4, 2004)
- A seasonal paradox (December 10, 2003)
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- Economy looks good (March 10, 2005)
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by Nicole Marklein
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
Some very encouraging information was released last Thursday that just might signal the beginning of an end to the difficult economic time currently being endured by many Americans. During the third fiscal quarter from July to September, our economy’s gross domestic product grew at an astounding and encouraging rate of 7.2 percent, which is the strongest pace in nearly 20 years. It even surpassed analysts’ predictions for a 6 percent growth rate.
That should be great news for just about everyone in the United States — that is, everyone except our Democratic presidential hopefuls.
Since 2001, Democrats eyeing the presidency have been planning a 2004 campaign founded in attacking the weak economy. However, Thursday’s numbers are yet another positive sign that President Bush’s strategies for boosting the economy are starting to come to fruition. Democrats just might have to face the reality that the 2004 Presidential election could look more like the 1984 Reagan victory than that of Bill Clinton in 1992.
Nonetheless, the Democratic candidates, in accordance with the negative tone that they have already set for many of their campaigns, are despondent even about this positive growth. They deny the implications of the third quarter’s growth and criticize the lack of growth in jobs. It does not cease to amaze me how these campaigns jump at all opportunities to put a negative spin on almost anything that is currently going well for our country.
Yet, while the month of September brought 57,000 new jobs to the nation, the Democratic candidates are right to concern themselves with chipping away at the United States’ 6.1 percent unemployment rate. However, new jobs are not created until there is significant growth in the economy and the confidence of business owners increases. As businesses react to the latest burst in the economy, valuable job creation will result. We are already beginning to see signs of this — as there was also a 15.4 percent growth rate in spending by businesses on equipment and software in the third quarter.
Although very optimistic about the economy’s growth, the White House is anything but celebratory. While the increase in GDP is heartening, we still have a long way to go economically, and the Bush administration will be among the first to admit it.
Even though the third quarter’s report is far from a guarantee of a strong economy, it joins other encouraging indications that Americans can believe that greater prosperity is around the corner. According to the U.S. Labor Department, new claims for unemployment benefits have been dropping, indicating that job layoffs are slowing. Also promising is the fact that the median weekly pay of workers has been rising faster than inflation.
Many Democratic Presidential candidates have criticized President Bush’s economic strategies, which include three rounds of tax cuts coupled with extremely low interest rates. This approach is based on the knowledge that if Americans are permitted to keep more of their self-earned money, they will be able to demand and spend more in our economy.
Though ill-timed for the Democratic candidates who presently offer no plausible alternative economic plans, Bush’s tax cuts appear to be working. Economists predict that the economy will continue to grow at a healthy, although slower, rate this quarter.
While the future of our economy remains uncertain, we are continually getting signals that President Bush’s strategies are working and that we may start seeing real economic improvement soon.
Still, it is unfortunate that the majority of our presidential hopefuls feel as though they must cling tightly to an image of economic disaster for our country in order to be successful themselves.
Nicole Marklein (nmmarklein@wisc.edu) is a junior majoring in political science.
