Econ in a nutshell...help me?!?!

[chemteacher]

I am spending the weekend at my in-laws....Repug central..although I amproud to say I am getting through to them a little bit.

For me (and I hope others), what is the best way to counter the Repug talking points I am sure to get?
For example, I can talk about the enormous deficit, loss of jobs, etc., but I am sure to hear about the growth in GDP and that the deficit as a percentage of GDP is not necessarily any larger than at any other time.
My thought is that the growth in GDP is really a lot of corporate profit taking, since wage growth is nonexistent. Hasn't there been a huge growth in consumer debt, too? Isn't this related to the housing bubble?
We are seriously in deep economic shit, I believe, because of the chimp, but I need to be prepared.

Any help from DU'ers more knowledgeable than I am would be great!!

[rockymountaindem]

1. You ever teach in Colorado Springs?

Maybe I had you for a teacher!

[chemteacher]

3. I teach in Centennial

I know some teachers/principals in Co Springs from summer conferences, etc.
Teaching is a second career for me....best move I ever made!!

[Yupster]

2. My best advice

Don't argue politics or religion with your mother-in-law. Can there be a worse idea than that?

Tell her about her grandkids. That's what she wants to hear about.

[chemteacher]

5. Mother-in-Law hates conflict..

Any time politics comes up, she changes the subject..Usually kind of a "Hey, look! Geese!" awkward way. I am not sure where she is coming from politically. She is in the County Repub Women's group, but she sees what they do to public education ,etc.

[amerikat]

4. The deficit is a tax that we have to pay interest on

it's better to pay as we go.

[nyhuskyfan]

6. I'll try to help a little...

Economies naturally go through cycles, and the growth in GDP has been very, very slow for a so-called economic recovery under Bush. Taken alone, economic growth can be misleading -- the economy's growth was never better than in 1933, but that's because it improved from disastrous to merely very bad. The Bush recovery, meanwhile, has been glacier-like despite widespread tax cuts that have turned the biggest economic surplus in U.S. hisory into the largest deficit in real dollars. There have been bigger deficits as a percentage of GDP, but there has never been so disastrous a turnaround in such a short time. The Bush administration basically gave away the bank for very little -- unless you are very wealthy, in which case you got a nice tax rebate.

The problem is that we are back to the trickle-down economics that was a proven failure. The first Bush presidency (1988-1992) showed what happens at the end of a long cycle of trickle down -- massive deficit spending and a long, tough recession. The Clinton years showed that economies trickle up -- strengthen the economy, lower the deficit and make the middle class stronger, and the rich will get richer, regardless of their tax burden. Everyone did better in the Clinton years - top to bottom. Now, wages are down, poverty is up, unemployment is up, and most tangible expenses are up (gas, health care, tuition, etc.). It's putting quite a squeeze on the middle class, and nothing is trickling down to anyone, because rich people don't spend the extra money they make. They already have all they need.

In addition, the Fed was very strict in the Clinton years, raising interest rates to try to prevent the economy from spreading too rapidly -- and they were hawks for fiscal responsibility from the government. Under Bush, the Fed cut interest rates 11 separate times in 2002, but saw minimal benefit for it. The tax cuts did not stimulate the economy at all. When Bush first took over, the Fed was honestly concerned we may pay the debt off too quickly after the success of the Clinton years, and encouraged the tax cuts.

Someone may blame 9/11, but we were already into deficit spending in July or August of 2001, and many of these problems have happened or continued since 2002. Economies also typically get a boost during wartime (never more obvious than in WWII), but that hasn't happened.

[chemteacher]

7. Thank you!

Clear response that I can follow up on...

[Tsiyu]

8. And wartime Boom is nonexistent

because our troops don't have what they need. Did you hear * say our troops "will have the best...." Why don't they ALREADY have the best? Because the Wartime Boom is going into the pockets of *'s corporate buddies. He said tonight that in order to create jobs, we need to make America easy for business. Bend over, in other words, if he is in for four more years.

[BillZBubb]

9. It's too late for me to think about this, but here's a good source

http://bushwatch.org/economy.htm

Anything by Krugman is good!