"A recession we (Shrub admin.) inherited"

[bigwillq]

Rolten (I think that's his name), the Shrub Budget guy, said this on Inside Politics.

Maybe I need to do some more research on this subject because I guess I wasn't paying attention to the economy at the end of the Big Dog's second term because I was living good but

Was the economy on the downswing?

The repukes keep saying this but I find it hard to believe.

Can any one answer that question or point me in the direction of where I could look to find out the info.
Thanks.

[seabeyond]

1. a smal recession was coming

lasted longer than what it should have and would have been interesting the unique ways clinton or gore could have handled it. yes there was a downturn toward the end of clintons year, but bush policy extended it by a good year i believe

[bigwillq]

4. I totally agree that Gore would have handled the economy

100% better than Shrub.

I didn't love Gore but I thought he would've kept this country going in the strong direction as when the Big Dog was in the WH.

[AntiCoup2K4]

2. FAUX News disagrees

believe it or not

[bigwillq]

5. Thanks for the links (nt)

[wryter2000]

3. The recession started in March 2001

I think it's on www.mediamatters.org

On edit: http://mediamatters.org/items/200405010002

[bigwillq]

7. Thanks for the link (nt)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. You can't "inherit" what you start....

A number of sources indicate that the recession started in March 2001:

<http://www.nber.org/cycles/july2003.html>

<http://www.nber.org/cycles/november2001/>

<http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1747/1/204/>

<http://www.cobank.com/publications/outlooknov02.pdf>

<http://money.cnn.com/2001/11/26/economy/recession/>

....more links in the Google search below....

<http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=march+2001+recession&btnG=Google+Search>

[bigwillq]

9. Thanks for the links

I have a lot of reading to do!!

[MichiganVote]

8. Part of the good fortune during Clinton years attributable

to the end of the Cold War. Clinton could have run up a deficit but the fact that there was a Congress and Senate (Republican) that opposed all social programming enhanced the arrivel of surpluses. I'll leave it to you to decide whether this was helpful.

A small recession was predicted in the Spring of 2001 using various economic models years before the Bush admin. Those who are fortunate and wealthy enough to have elite financial managers are said to have begun selling off their holdings at the tail end of 2000. HOWEVER, the advent of the tax cuts to the wealthy, fighting two wars and the dismal affects of NAFTA have made a manageable dog, a vicious dog.

Suffice to say, another Bush, another lousy economy. Makes you wonder how they ever managed to stay rich.

[bigwillq]

12. You're last line makes a ton of sense

Didn't Americans realize from Poppa's four years that they don't know how to manage money?

I hope people start to wake up.

[BillZBubb]

10. It's a typical Repug lie.

They hope (and are correct) that most voters have the memory of cucumber. That's why they can get away with it.

The recession started in late March 2001. A downturn has to last at least 2 quarters to be considered a recession. So, the Chimperor presided over the whole thing. Plus, he did NOTHING to stop it. Gore would have had a solution.

The official site for recession's is
http://www.nber.org

[bigwillq]

11. Thanks for the link

You're right about Gore.


Shrub doesn't seem to have any solutions about anything and WHY can't people see this.

Like you said, maybe people do have memories like cucumbers but it really pisses me off how ignorant people are.

[acmavm]

13. I have this vague suspicion that bush*'s fiscal programs have a lot to do

with why we're in the dumper. You can't take money out of the hands of the middle class, promote horrid policies that leads to them losing their jobs, millions having to accept low wage paying jobs, and expect to have a strong economy. We have to have money to spend to keep the economy rolling.

[BillZBubb]

14. Very good point.

When you have fewer jobs overall, and new jobs coming online pay significantly less than the jobs that are ending, total disposable income drops. And that's what is spent by consumers.

Since consumer activity is about 2/3 of the GDP, that has a big impact. Tax cuts for the rich don't do anything to help.

[AirAmFan]

15. Inherited it? To justify their 'tax cut', they worked hard to CREATE it!

From http://www.brook.edu/views/op-ed/sperling/20010320.htm

"President's Gloomy Talk Stokes Economic Fears

The Boston Globe, March 20, 2001

Gene B. Sperling

President Bush is playing a dangerous economic game. He has taken on the unusual presidential role of being the cheerleader for economic doom to justify his tax cut. ... the detailed consumer confidence statistics provide the most damning case against Bush. The evidence suggests that he has successfully talked down the economy and has helped expedite a disconcerting drop in consumer expectations about future economic prospects.

... there is reason to fear that it is more than coincidental that since Vice President Cheney made headlines in early December by claiming we were on the front edge of a recession, expectations about the future have fallen a whopping 32 percent, even though confidence about present circumstances are high and have fallen only 8 percent. Indeed, the difference between overall consumer confidence and expectations for the future is the largest since 1973.

Since Cheney's initial warning bell, President Bush has repeatedly sought to send out the same dark message. He continually used the bully pulpit to describe his tax cut as needed to make sure our economy does not go into a tailspin. In his State of the Union address, while he mentioned that two pictures could be painted of the United States, he led his address speaking about warning signs, increasing layoffs, and rising energy prices without a single reassuring word about the current economy.

... Many economists have warned the administration about the potential negative consequences of such negative talk on the economy....

© Copyright 2001 The Boston Globe"