\We've taken steps to get our economy growing again, and there are some very encouraging signs that progress is being made,"" President Bush told a crowd of cheering supporters in Indianapolis Sept. 5. Standing in front of a background with the words ""Jobs,"" ""Growth"" and ""Opportunity"" all over it, he continued, ""Yet...we've got more to do. And I'm not going to be satisfied until every American who's looking for a job can find a job.""
The president rallied support for his tax cuts and deregulation of big business at his appearance in Indianapolis, saying the economy is on the right track and his plans are the way to perpetuate the trend. On the surface, it seemed like the president's plans for the economy have been a complete success and America is regaining its strength after some tough economic times.
Yet, despite the fact that a vast majority of economic policy experts had predicted otherwise, the number of jobs in the country fell by 93,000 in the month of August.
It is now looking more and more as if the ""jobless recovery"" predicted by many will occur. While the economy is finally expanding after months of poor performance, the number of jobs available continues to fall. Though the unemployment rate fell one-tenth of 1 percent between July and August, upon closer examination even the silver lining is not that silver.
The number of discouraged workers-those who are not counted in the labor force because they find the job market too bleak to look for works-rose by 33,000. The number of self-employed Americans-which often includes people who recently lost jobs and are hiring themselves out as free-lance workers-rose by 233,000.
According to many experts, the situation is becoming dire. ""If we don't see some job growth by Thanksgiving, then the spurt in economic activity that we are currently experiencing will fade,"" said Mark M. Zandi of Economy.com, ""We will be right back to where we were early this year, in the economic soup.""
Yet the president continues to push his tax cuts as an effective way of creating jobs. ""Tax relief means new jobs for Americans,"" he said. Though his tax cuts for the wealthy have not led to any new jobs, but have led to mounting federal deficits, Bush maintains that the best way to fix the current economic situation is by making his tax cuts permanent.
It seems as if the president is refusing to wake up to the reality that his reliance on trickle-down economics does not work. While he is busy cutting taxes, the occupation of Iraq is becoming more and more expensive, and nearly all the states have had to make major cuts in vital services like education and health care to balance their budgets. Meanwhile, as he continues to cater to the upper class, thousands of working Americans are having trouble making ends meet.
Tamara Draut, the director of the economic opportunity program at the public policy group Demos, wrote a letter to The New York Times recently saying that 30 percent of Americans could not consistently pay for food, healthcare, childcare and housing. Yet somehow President Bush continues to maintain that the economy is heading in the right direction.
Bush needs to wake up to the reality that citizens are losing jobs, states are cutting services and basic needs are not being met. The president's policies are not working, and unless he faces the facts he will have trouble keeping his own job in 2004.
