I have decided that the best thing I can do for my political party in the face of all out assults from the opposition party, the rank and file news media as well as the kook fringe left is to try and point out things that aren't getting much attention because they don't help prove that conservatives are evil.
My goal will be to make one post a day from now until the election, more if I can.
Today I will go with an easy one: THE ECONOMY! Guess what. The economy of this country is it's best point in decades...possibly of all time. Thanks in no small part to the Bush tax cuts the deficit is incredibly low, uneployment is almost non-existent, and it's almost impossible not to get a job after graduating from college.
In the 80's your house was cool if you had two telephones. Now you are only cool if you have two plasma tv's! Just look at this Forbes study of the average American family:
As the U.S. population crossed the 300 million mark sometime around 7:46 a.m. Tuesday (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the typical family is doing a whole lot better than their grandparents were in 1967, the year the population first surpassed 200 million.
Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% more than their mid-'60s counterparts, even when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995.
Throw in the low inflation of the past 20 years, a deregulated airline industry that's made travel much cheaper, plus technological progress that's provided the middle class with not only better cars and televisions, but every gadget from DVD players to iPods, all at lower and lower prices, and it's obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Median are living the life of Riley compared to their parents and grandparents.
But is this reported on the evening news? Are there stories comparing economic growth over the past three decades? Are any studies on the effects of the Bush tax cuts? Are there stories about the record revenues being collected at the IRS? Nope. All you get are whining that there are poor people in this country (of course poor means they eat Easy-Mac twice a week, nevermind that in some countries people can't afford rice). Or you get stories complaining that Wal-Mart isn't unionized.
Democrats constantly claim that they will improve the economy. This is left-over from the Clinton claim that "it's the economy stupid" that worked so well in the 90's. But what do the democrats mean when they say that they will improve the economy? They have an economic model based on feelings. I'm not kidding. Think about it.
They make you feel that you deserve a better life, deserve more money, deserve another plasma screen. Why? Because that guy has it, bam you feel jealous and disatisfied with what you have. And it's clearly someone else's fault that you don't have enough, thus the entitlement mindset kicks in enabling liberals to promise you stuff and appeal directly to your feelings for your vote.
They can go the other way on you as well. They can say "look at this poor person, don't you feel guilty that he doesn't have as much as you?". They then blame the government for not having enough programs that provide for the poor. So they use your guilt to make you not be bothered by higher taxes, they can then implement their socialist economic policies and claim that you are doing your part as a good citizen and can now be guilt free.
Notice that any time a lib debates a conservative on economic issues the conservative can never get the discussion over to capitalism/trickle-down vs. socialist welfare mentality. Why? Because it takes the lib two seconds to accuse the conservative that he hates poor people, or black people, or that he just wants to get wealthy and help his rich buddies get wealthier at others expense.
The fact is our conservative economics are working and despite how people feel they are the much better option. Personal responsibility and hard work trump guilt and envy every day of the week. Contrast "We want you to get the most out of the hard work you do" with "It's not fair that you don't have as much (or have more than) as you should".
One of the best things about this country is the amount of return you can get on your work. In some countries you can work your fingers to the bone and still not get very far. In this country you are only limited in how far you can go by how hard you are willing to work.
Read Rush Limbaugh's take on the Forbes story.
Here's George Will on Prosperity Amid The Gloom.
CNN can't be bothered with good economic news.
Captain Ed also comments on the Economic Hypocondria
Linked to Basil's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Jo's Cafe.
