The Economy Is Smoking! - Flopping Aces

As my regular readers know for the last few days it’s been All-Foley-All-The-Time here at Flopping Aces. Frankly I’m a bit sick of it, and I know most of you have to be by now also. That’s why I am now changing to All-Economy-All-The-Time…I mean have you seen how well our economy is doing? At least one reporter has:

The federal budget deficit estimate for the fiscal year just completed has dropped to $250 billion, congressional estimators said Friday, as the economy continued to fuel impressive tax revenues.

The Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimate is $10 billion below CBO predictions issued in August and well below a July White House prediction of $296 billion.

The improving deficit picture – Bush predicted a $423 billion deficit in his February budget – has been driven by better-than-expected tax receipts, especially from corporate profits, CBO said.

[…]The CBO estimate continues a positive trend on the deficit after a grim deficit performance during President Bush’s first term, and comes despite soaring war costs and $50 billion in emergency spending for hurricane relief.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, credited the improving deficit numbers to “a responsible budget blueprint and pro-growth policies,” even as Democrats pointed out that at $250 billion, the deficit is still one of the largest in history.

“Though today’s estimates for 2006 are not as pessimistic as some earlier estimates, it is clear that the budget remains on the wrong track,” said top budget panel Democrat John Spratt Jr. of South Carolina. “The Congressional Budget Office and even the Bush administration are estimating that deficits will be even larger next year.”

But when measured against the size of the economy, which is the comparison economists think is most important, the deficit picture looks even better.

At 1.9 percent of gross domestic product, the 2006 deficit registers far below those seen in the 1980s and early 1990s. The modern record of 6 percent of GDP came in 1983 and deficits greater than 4 percent in 1991 and 1992 drove Congress to embark on a 1993 deficit-cutting drive.

As you can tell from my highlights, the press and the left continue to talkdown this economy with any little dig they can but when taken as a whole this economy is SMOKING:

Tax receipts are up $253 billion, a whopping 12 percent over last year. That’s the thirds consecutive year of strong revenue growth after a dismal performance in the early part of the decade.

Taxes paid quarterly on corporate profits and by wealthier people and small businessmen were especially strong in 2006. Corporate income taxes rose 27 percent over 2005 while nonwithheld receipts increased 19 percent.

Jobs?

Unemployment went down and paychecks went up last month, the government said yesterday, and it added that job growth for the year ending in March may have been far stronger than previously thought.

[…]The Labor Department’s employment report — and other figures released last week — depict an economy that remained generally healthy in September outside of the slumping housing market. Workers found jobs and got paid more, while consumers hit the stores and auto showrooms to spend some of the extra cash gained from falling gasoline prices.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in September from 4.7 percent in August, which was down from 4.8 percent in July. The jobless rate has varied from 4.6 to 4.8 percent all year. Considering that a few workers have such poor skills as to be nearly unemployable, many economists consider a rate below 5 percent to constitute full employment, meaning just about every worker with the skills and desire to work can find a job.

Demand for labor helped drive workers’ average hourly wages, not including those of most managers, up to $16.84 last month. That’s a 4 percent increase from September 2005, the fastest wage growth in more than five years.

But what do we get from the Democrats?

Democrats rejected the administration effort as spin. “Under their economic policies, the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is getting squeezed,” Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. “President Bush may be ‘pleased’ with what his economy has done, but hard-working families know America needs a new direction.”

And you do know what that means right? Taxes my friend, more taxes, as Pelosi is indicating:

Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above “a certain level.” She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.

And Rangel is guaranteeing rising tax cuts:

Congress Daily reported today that the Democratic Party’s ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Rangel (D) of New York, all but guaranteed tax increases in the Democratic agenda if they take back the house in November. When approached about whether tax increases across the income spectrum would be considered, Rep. Rangel responded, “No question about it.”

This kinda stuff needs to be blogged about by all of us, everyday, until Nov 7th. If the Democrats take back the house we are looking at a disaster of huge proportion.

Meanwhile our MSM is doing it’s part to talkdown the economy, and in so doing, helping the Democrats get elected:

A week after ignoring the announcement of a roaring 5.3 percent GDP growth rate in the first quarter, and on the day unemployment fell a tenth of a point to 4.6 percent — the lowest level since July of 2001 — the CBS Evening News decided to lead Friday with how, as anchor Russ Mitchell put it: “There are new signs this evening that the economy is slowing down.” Reporter Anthony Mason asserted that “rising interest rates and rising gas prices are beginning to put the brakes on the U.S. economy.” Mason laid out the bad news: “The newest numbers, just 75,000 jobs were added to the economy last month, well below forecasts. Manufacturing lost 14,000 jobs. But retail took the biggest hit, losing more than 27,000” and “the other hammer to the economy came from the once-booming construction sector. It came to a standstill in May.” Mason concluded with his own domino theory: “One major builder reported a nearly 30 percent drop in new orders for the past two months. Now that ripples right through the economy. Buying slows, then building slows, then hiring slows. And that, Russ, is why the economy is slowing.”

On NBC, in contrast, Anne Thompson noted how “cuts on factory floors and at the country’s retailers held back job gains for the second straight month,” but she characterized those as “signs analysts say of an economy that is slowing but not in trouble.” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, then emphasized how the economy “is throttling back from very rapid growth earlier in the year, but it is still a very strong economy, an economy that will perform well going forward.”

The Anchoress notices the same thing when it comes to our MSM and their Democrat buddies:

It’s always driven me crazy that in the 1990’s we were told that 5.6% unemployment was “virtually full employment,” (of course it was, a Democrat was in the WH!) but the current 4.6% unemployment rate never gets reported, and even if it does, there is always a “but.”

The headline reads:

Job Growth Slows, Unemployment Rate Dips.

Hmmmmâ€¦maybe “full employment” is actually near, this time? It’s at a 5 year lowâ€¦

Puhlease:

As Dean screeches:

Howard Dean: “Republican policies of the last five years have damaged our economy and failed Americans” on health care and other issues, DNC Chair Dean writes. According to Dean, “While wages and incomes have slowed,” health care costs, as well as the national debt and other costs, have increased. Democrats “will ease the burdens on middle class Americans and reverse Republican cuts in college tuition aid and health care,” Dean writes (Dean, Wall Street Journal, 9/22).

Sorry my friends, our economy is doing great and there is just no way to spin it otherwise.

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Curt

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