The Economy

Last Tuesday, Bob took some time to defend the Republican's stewardship of the economy. Bob's defense basically consisted of citing that nationwide unemployment is currently at around 4%. You see, everything is great! Almost everyone who wants a job has one! Bush is doing a helluva job!

But once again, Bob omits the bad news when delivering the good news to tell only one side of the story. It's called "spin" in the political world, but it more accurately called a "lie."

One of the key economic factors that Bob chose to ignore were real wages, which are wages that have been adjusted for inflation. By looking at real wages, you're examining the spending power of an earner, with gas prices, health insurance, and other inflationary pressures already factored in. Unfortunately for Bob's analysis, the fact of the matter is that real wages have been essentially stagnant during the course of the Bush presidency. Despite recent gains, the average real wage in May 2007 was the same as in September of 2002. This is, of course, in contrast to the dramatic rise in real wages during the last years of the Clinton Administration.

So, Bob, this is why people aren't all jolly and happy about the current economy. They're not really making any more money! They're not getting ahead and they don't need me or you to tell them as much. They realize it every week when their paycheck is quickly eaten up by gas, food, and mortgage payments, with precious little to save for the future.

But don't just take my word for it. Even the far right-wing Washington Times isn't impressed by the economy's performance, or the White House's spin, either.