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Bush Campaign Ads . . . Brought to You by Special Interests
As President Bush's $10.5 million campaign ad blitz begins, Public Citizen released a report outlining who helped pay for the campaign ads and what favors they have received during his presidency.
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No Child Left Behind? The Funding Gap in ESEA and Other Federal Education Programs
The current reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), raises high expectations for achievement and imposes stringent measures of accountability on students, teachers, and schools.
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January 9, 2004
Administration Claims of Better Economy Don't Follow the Numbers
While the Bush/Cheney re-election website promotes the idea that the economy is "stepping on the gas pedal,"1 new figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed hiring to be flat in December 2003 with a net gain of 1,000 jobs.2 A new report released today by the Economic Policy Institute finds that the Bush administration's assertion that the president's 2003 tax cut fell 1.615 million jobs short of its prediction for the year.3
The president publicly unveiled his 2003 tax cut last year by tying it to job creation. In the State of the Union, Bush said, "When America works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs."4 But the president's policies have failed to benefit American workers. A National Journal piece last week noted that "The economy is so far behind the administration's forecast that an average of 400,000 jobs would have to materialize every month until the end of 2004 to keep to the White House schedule. How hard is that? During the 1990s boom, such phenomenal job growth occurred in eight months out of 102."5
The White House has thus far focused on putting a positive spin on the state of the economy. The president said in early December, "This administration has laid the foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs across America so every single citizen has a chance to realize the American dream."6 But so far, the widely reported increases in productivity and growth aren't translating into jobs or higher wages. New jobs being created are paying 13% less than those lost during the recession--$14.65/hour versus $16.92/hour. By contrast, new jobs created during the later years of the expansion, 1998 to 2000, paid 12% more.
While the rapid growth of the recovery has so far failed to benefit workers, corporate profits have increased at a rate far beyond those of previous recoveries. According to the EPI study, previous recoveries provided an average of 61% of total income growth - and never less than 55% -- to workers. In this recovery, however, only 29% of the total income growth has gone to workers' wages and benefits. Meanwhile, corporate profits have claimed an average share of 46% of total income growth in this recovery, compared to an historic average of 26%.7
Sources:
- Bush/Cheney '04 Web Site, 1/4/04.
- "Employment Situation Summary: December 2003," Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/9/04.
- Job Watch, Economic Policy Institute.
- 2003 State of the Union, 1/29/03.
- "The Politics of Jobs," National Journal, 1/3/04.
- "In Heart of Steel Country, Bush Talks of Economy, Not Tariffs," New York Times, 12/2/03.
- Job Watch, Economic Policy Institute.
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