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 ([email protected]) is a junior
majoring in political science.