Pessimism About the Economy

by | Aug 24, 2004 | POLITICS

Democrats and their allies in the media have been giddy the latest jobs report. The New York Times said it showed that July “was a sputtering, tepid month” — a boon to Democrats. John Kerry said Friday’s report showed that instead of “turning the corner,” as President Bush claims, the report shows the economy was […]

Democrats and their allies in the media have been giddy the latest jobs report. The New York Times said it showed that July “was a sputtering, tepid month” — a boon to Democrats.

John Kerry said Friday’s report showed that instead of “turning the corner,” as President Bush claims, the report shows the economy was “taking a U-turn.” He added, “Millions of good jobs [are being] lost to plant closings and outsourcing.”

Baloney.

Pessimism about the economy helps Kerry and his friends, but an objective look at the report shows a very different picture. Yes, the number of people employed in July rose only slightly, by 32,000. But the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent — down from 6.3 percent a year ago and the lowest since October 2001, right after the 9/11 attacks.

The rate today is lower than when Bill Clinton was running for re-election in 1996. It’s lower than the average unemployment rate in the 1990s — not to mention the 1980s and 1970s. Plant closings are way down from a year ago, and the threat of outsourcing is a figment of Lou Dobbs’s imagination.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with numbers, but I am sick and tired of the biased bleating that passes for economic analysis these days. Look at this

Ambassador Glassman has had a long career in media. He was host of three weekly public-affairs programs, editor-in-chief and co-owner of Roll Call, the congressional newspaper, and publisher of the Atlantic Monthly and the New Republic. For 11 years, he was both an investment and op-ed columnist for the Washington Post.

The views expressed above represent those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors and publishers of Capitalism Magazine. Capitalism Magazine sometimes publishes articles we disagree with because we think the article provides information, or a contrasting point of view, that may be of value to our readers.

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