csua.org/u/h9o -> www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=economic_hypochondria&ns=GeorgeWill&dt=10/19/2006&page=full&comments=true
Post Your Comments Recently Bill Clinton, at the British Labour Party's annual conference, delivered what the Times of London described as a "relaxed, almost rambling" and "easy anecdotal" speech to an enthralled audience of leftists eager for evidence of American disappointments. Never a connoisseur of understatement, Clinton said America is "now outsourcing college-education jobs to India." But Clinton-as-Cassandra should not persuade college students to abandon their quest for diplomas: The unemployment rate among college graduates is 2 percent.
Reducing the budget deficit Clinton is always a leading indicator of "progressive" fashions in rhetoric. And every election year -- meaning every other year -- brings an epidemic of dubious economic analysis, as members of the party out of power discern lead linings on silver clouds. Nancy Pelosi vows that if Democrats capture Congress they will "jump-start our economy." Economic hypochondria, a derangement associated with affluence, is a byproduct of the welfare state: An entitlement mentality gives Americans a low pain threshold -- witness their recurring hysterias about nominal rather than real gasoline prices -- and a sense of being entitled to economic dynamism without the frictions and "creative destruction" that must accompany dynamism. Economic hypochondria is also bred by news media that consider the phrase "good news" an oxymoron, even as the US economy, which has performed better than any other major industrial economy since 2001, drives the Dow to record highs. This news triggered a gusher of journalistic gloom: More oil means more woe -- a reprieve for that enemy of humanity, the internal combustion engine, and more global warming, more air pollution, more highway fatalities, more suburban sprawl. For consumers, that is akin to a tax cut of more than $81 billion. President Bush's tax cuts were supposed to cause a cataract of red ink. It is said that workers' compensation has been stagnant. But to tickle that bad news from the statistics you must treat compensation'' as a synonym for wages, and then ignore the effect of taxation on individuals' well-being. Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur of the American Enterprise Institute, writing in National Review, say annual wage growth since 2000 has been 06 percent, but the annual increase in real hourly compensation, including benefits -- and if you do not include them, why are they called benefits? And taxes -- particularly those paid by middle-class families with children -- have declined substantially. Furthermore, as Hassett and Mathur write, consumers, by modifying their behavior, protect or enhance their well-being in ways not captured in economic statistics. For example, an American who, prompted by higher energy prices, traded in a Hummer for a Prius has served his or her standard of living. "If I ate 80 apples last year, and the price of apples increased this year to a million dollars, my welfare would not go way down; Finally, today's widening income disparities will be partly self-correcting. Granted, income statistics show the increasing disadvantages of persons with education deficits. But that is the market saying -- shouting, really -- "Stay in school!" Over time, the voice of the market is rational, credible and therefore a potent instrument for changing behavior.
View in descending order bennyboy writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 7:59 AM A great article George Will has written not only a literate piece, but an optimistic one.
If it weren't for the internet and Fox news there would be no coverage of the positive economic news whatsoever. When Klinton was in office he received credit for a new fry cook being hired at a truck stop. The Dow has set 7 records in the last week and you don't hear a word. We all know the MSM is liberal, but they're not even trying to fake it anymore.
Flag as Offensive DavidMac writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 8:21 AM Clinton Lies (again) Slick Willie continues in his quest for relevancy in the 21st century. His surrogate, Hillary, drifts toward November 2008 with socialism on her mind.
Flag as Offensive Kraut writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 9:33 AM Icedog01 If the job that you described had been created during the current administration the MSM would have counted it against Bush because it was only a "hamburger flipper" job.
Flag as Offensive g_gaisford writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 9:46 AM Interesting numbers ... Will defends wage and benefits growth during the Bush presidency as growing at a whopping 16 percent. Of course, he fails to mention that wage growth historically mirrors GDP growth, which in the same period was over twice as high, at 35 percent. Ergo, an increased share of growth has been going to profits and the relative few with enough slack in their personal finances to invest in stocks. Average working Americans are not enjoying quite the same gains, hence the relative pessimism about today's economy -- whatever fairy tales about a liberal media coverup this column's readers might otherwise maintain. Criticism of Clinton seems always to land on his sexual habits, rather than the achievements of his presidency -- including welfare reform and historic opening of trade in the Western hemisphere. We can fairly expect conservative attacks on his wife Hillary to run in the same liscivious, unserious vein. What of the current administration with its fear-mongering? Loose WMD are freely floating around the Middle East, easily acquireable and deployable against US targets! Are these the messages of an optimistic political movement?
Flag as Offensive Tbell writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 10:21 AM Yes, pessimists. As an independent, I take the time to listen to both sides. It's obvious to me that conservatives are much more upbeat about our country. I was just reading a local liberal columnist last week comparing our current economic state to the Great Depression! The reason Barack Obama has become a rock star for this party is not because he has achieved much yet, but because he actually speaks optimisticly. He stands out like a sore thumb next to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
modernone writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 10:30 AM Borrowed prosperity Will ignores inflation, ignores the debt, ignores the negative savings rate, ignores the effect of the previous 5 years, ignores the fact that if you remove the wall street bunch, everyone elses income fell, etc. He does not explain how this magic closing of the gap in wealth will close but he is probably not talking about the loss of the middle class, only the really poor. The tax cuts have not sparked capital investment but has been used for operations in business and short term purchases for consumers. This results in no long term improvement in the economy but a short term improvement in profits and retail sales. The president did not seem to optimistic about Iraq in his interview yesterday. Of course Cheney would disagree since things are really pretty good in Iraq.
Flag as Offensive Madai writes: Thursday, October, 19, 2006 10:43 AM Why is wage growth dead? In case you didn't notice, we had a little thing called a "tech bubble". During the tech bubble, there was a massive shift in investment towards tech jobs, followed by a burst bubble. Colleges lost sizable chunks of their endowments, so they decided to rebuild them by jacking up tuition, meanwhile, dropping a hint to just blame the US president. Nevermind the fact Bush had absolutely nothing to do with the tech bubble. Not only did they have to pay out a shitload of money on life insurance policies and the like all at once, but also, their investments tanked. They bought shares of microsoft at $50 with the money paid in by WTC workers, and paid out death benefits with shares of microsft paid at $20. They just jacked up their premiums and then dropped a hint to blame Bush. And if bush tried to explain how much damage 9/11 did, they'd just accuse him of politicizing 9/11 and trying to give a handout to big insurance corporations! But that makes the whole "blame bush" thing even more problematic: IT WORKS. The man doesn't have the first clue how to convincingly defend h...
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