[Futurework] Dreaming the life?

[Karen Watters Cole]

Thanks for posting that, Ed.  As someone who built or bought and sold 6 homes in 15 years of marriage, I can attest that despite what the realtor and appraisal promises, the homeowner is hardly ever as confident things will turn out well. Krugman’s article was an apt metaphor.   For your information (fyi): Regular gas was $2.49/gal in my area before the today’s jump to $67/barrel and AAA says it expects another 5 cent increase by Monday. People are beginning to get notices in the credit card statements about the jump in minimum payments due, in addition to rising rates. And just in case anyone’s forgotten, Bush: 393,000 Average Jobs per Year. Clinton: 2.9 Million. See Tables of data here http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/10/191657/493   Today’s economic headline: Trade deficit climbs as energy costs soar http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/business/12cnd-econ.html   Also review the OpChart by Kohut/Hoey on polled issues: Stuck in Second. Bush’s report card from the public for the first half-year of his second term is not a good one compared with how the public graded Presidents Reagan and Clinton at a similar point in time. Only President Nixon, who had by then begun to tumble into the abyss of Watergate, had a lower presidential approval rating. Unlike Nixon’s precipitous decline over one mega-problem, Mr. Bush’s fall in public esteem reflects discontent in a number of areas: Americans are unhappy about economic conditions, the war in Iraq, Washington’s intervention in the case of Terri Schiavo and general partisan bickering. In that regard, it is noteworthy that favorable ratings for Congress are lower than in the past, too.  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/09kohut.html   NYT Editorial: August 12, 2005 The View From Crawford   The most surprising thing about the public's dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of the economy, as expressed in recent polls, is the administration's apparent astonishment at Mr. Bush's low marks. His advisers have offered various explanations. Treasury Secretary John Snow says that strong consumer spending indicates that people don't feel as bad about the economy as they tell pollsters. He also suggests that part of the problem is that "less educated people have seen their incomes and wages grow more slowly." Before a meeting with top economic advisers in Crawford this week, the president cited the high cost of energy and health care as weighing on "the future of economic growth."   There may be some truth to that. But the overarching explanation is that people are feeling insecure because they understand that today's economy is built on shaky fundamentals. Average Americans may not sit around fretting about America's outsized budget and trade deficits, and its unprecedented foreign indebtedness. But many of them - as buyers, borrowers and employees - are concerned about the increasingly bubbly housing sector.   The economy's shortcomings are nowhere more obvious than in the job market. Nearly four years into an economic expansion, job growth is still substantially slower than in previous recoveries. Wages for 80 percent of the work force are barely keeping pace with inflation, and aid for the workers hurt by global trade is paltry. Because Mr. Bush fails to acknowledge the lackluster job and wage growth, he fails to respond appropriately. The administration's insistence that the economy is getting better all the time - a stance that is based on statistical aggregates that are often divorced from individuals' actual experience - only intensifies the anxiety that people feel.   After the meeting in Crawford, participants said health care costs had been a major topic of discussion, though they wouldn't say what, if any, policies the president might pursue. Instead, they crowed about the administration's postvacation plans: to redouble efforts to privatize Social Security and to embark on "tax reform," which is premised, in part, on permanent tax cuts for the wealthy and would therefore mean bigger deficits, drastic cuts in government services or higher taxes for everyone else.   At his vacation home, Mr. Bush told reporters that "the economy of the United States is strong and the foundation for sustained growth is in place." The view from Crawford is clearly rosier than from where most Americans sit.   http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/opinion/12fri3.html

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