Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Under Bush, the rich get richer and the middle class disappears.
Republicans have been shouting about recent increases in job numbers and claim that Bush is pulling the country out of recession. But the numbers that really count are the wage levels of the average American worker, and they are plummeting even as corporate profits and CEO pay are exploding. According to the Economic Policy Institute, corporate profits have risen by more than 62% and CEO pay went up by 27% while workers' take home pay has dropped by .6%. This follows an earlier report which shows that these newly added jobs that Republicans are touting pay 21% less than the ones that were slashed. Despite this wage crisis, Bush is pushing to cut off an estimated 8 million workers from overtime pay protections, and supports efforts to outsource even more well-paid American jobs. Meanwhile, he refuses to raise the minimum wage, despite new research showing a minimum wage hike would not adversely affect businesses or consumers.
Furthermore, the frosting on the cake for this triumph of Republican ‘supply-side’ economics is Bush’s ‘tax cut for the wealthy’ which lavishes more than $1 trillion on the richest 1% of the population. To put it into dollars and cents, the average worker takes home $517 a week with about $400 yearly in Bush tax cuts. At the same time, the average CEO takes home $155,769 a week with well over $50,000 yearly in Bush tax cuts.
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The extremely lopsided US trade deficit with China is a threat to our long-term economic well-being and national security.
· The trade deficit has contributed to the erosion of manufacturing jobs and jobless recovery in the US.
· Manufacturing is critical for the nation's economic and national security.
· The deficit has adversely impacted other sectors of the US economy as well.
These findings were published in the annual report of the Congressional "US-China Economic and Security Review Commission" (The redefined former "US Trade Deficit Review Commission”).
The report goes on to say that US imports from China [US$152 billion] are outpacing exports to China [$28 billion] by more than 5 to 1. US corporations are pouring investments into China, moving manufacturing capacity and, in some cases, research and development.
Chinese corporations are raising capital in the US without the transparency required of American firms. In the second quarter, more than half of US Treasury bonds were held by foreigners, mostly Asian, and increasingly by China. Furthermore, Foreign central banks spent $125.2 billion acquiring US assets in the last quarter.
And, the report expressed worry about China’s rapid scientific and technological development that approaches US levels and exceeding European levels in many enterprises. It demanded that Congress direct the administration to develop a national policy to meet China’s challenge and maintain our competitive leadership.
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In the 2004 presidential election, al-Qaeda is for Bush.
George Bush’s premeditated, unprovoked war in Iraq has played into Osama bin Laden's hands. Journalist Max Rodenbeck, based in Cairo, writes in 'The Economist’ that the underlining objective of bin Laden and his followers is to radically reform Islam. Attacking America and its allies is merely a tactic to rally other Muslims to their cause. Following the Madrid bombings, al-Qaeda stated, “The organization hoped George Bush would win reelection 'because he acts with force rather than wisdom or shrewdness, and it is his religious fanaticism that will rouse our (Islamic) nation, as has been shown. Being targeted by an enemy is what will wake us from our slumber." (Arabic news web site www.elaph.com.)
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Bush’s Corporate Payoffs.
The 30 companies that own most of the dirtiest power plants in the country and their trade associations have raised $6.6 million for President Bush and the Republican National Committee since 1999. Subsequently, they were rewarded with relief from pollution regulations resulting from the aggressive enforcement actions of the Clinton administration requiring them to install billions of dollars worth of pollution controls at coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, those same polluters have enjoyed billions of dollars in subsidies, cost and tax abatements, and liability wavers during the last four years.
Bush paybacks for corporate contributions include: 1. Public lands drilling, 2. Liability waivers for MTBE, 3. Not reauthorizing the Superfund Tax, and 4. Loopholes in ‘the New Source Review’ requiring industries to update pollution controls when their changes increase emissions.
Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, said it was a "classic" story about the role of campaign contributions in Washington. The power industry’s strategy was to "help elect an industry-friendly president, fill federal regulatory posts with former utility executives and lobbyists, and hire a small army of lobbyists and lawyers connected to the new president to engineer regulatory changes."
The Bush Administration has shown time and time again, that it cares more about corporate polluters than the public's interest in a clean, healthy environment.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FACTORY THAT BUSH TOUTED CLOSES WITH 1,300 OHIOANS LEFT JOBLESS.
Last April, President Bush visited a Timken Company manufacturing plant in Ohio to press for passage of new tax cuts that he said would spur the economy. During the speech Bush said that "the future of this company is bright and therefore, the future of employment is bright for the families that work here". However, less than a year after the tax cuts for the wealthy passed, that same factory is shutting down -- putting about 1,300 people out of work and inflicting a "devastating" blow to the Canton community.
With the White House pushing even more tax cuts for the wealthy and supporting outsourcing of American jobs, Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs since President Bush took office.
Of course, one person who will not be feeling the pain of the President's economic policies is W.R. "Tim" Timken - a top Bush fundraiser and the man who decided to shut down the factory. Having made more than $2.6 million last year, Timken stands to receive $59,000 in new tax breaks this year from Bush’s tax cut for the rich. (Timken also happens to have raised $600,000 for the President in one night.) By contrast, 89% of Ohio residents will receive less than $100 by 2006 from the latest Bush tax cuts.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Republicans have been shouting about recent increases in job numbers and claim that Bush is pulling the country out of recession. But the numbers that really count are the wage levels of the average American worker, and they are plummeting even as corporate profits and CEO pay are exploding. According to the Economic Policy Institute, corporate profits have risen by more than 62% and CEO pay went up by 27% while workers' take home pay has dropped by .6%. This follows an earlier report which shows that these newly added jobs that Republicans are touting pay 21% less than the ones that were slashed. Despite this wage crisis, Bush is pushing to cut off an estimated 8 million workers from overtime pay protections, and supports efforts to outsource even more well-paid American jobs. Meanwhile, he refuses to raise the minimum wage, despite new research showing a minimum wage hike would not adversely affect businesses or consumers.
Furthermore, the frosting on the cake for this triumph of Republican ‘supply-side’ economics is Bush’s ‘tax cut for the wealthy’ which lavishes more than $1 trillion on the richest 1% of the population. To put it into dollars and cents, the average worker takes home $517 a week with about $400 yearly in Bush tax cuts. At the same time, the average CEO takes home $155,769 a week with well over $50,000 yearly in Bush tax cuts.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The extremely lopsided US trade deficit with China is a threat to our long-term economic well-being and national security.
· The trade deficit has contributed to the erosion of manufacturing jobs and jobless recovery in the US.
· Manufacturing is critical for the nation's economic and national security.
· The deficit has adversely impacted other sectors of the US economy as well.
These findings were published in the annual report of the Congressional "US-China Economic and Security Review Commission" (The redefined former "US Trade Deficit Review Commission”).
The report goes on to say that US imports from China [US$152 billion] are outpacing exports to China [$28 billion] by more than 5 to 1. US corporations are pouring investments into China, moving manufacturing capacity and, in some cases, research and development.
Chinese corporations are raising capital in the US without the transparency required of American firms. In the second quarter, more than half of US Treasury bonds were held by foreigners, mostly Asian, and increasingly by China. Furthermore, Foreign central banks spent $125.2 billion acquiring US assets in the last quarter.
And, the report expressed worry about China’s rapid scientific and technological development that approaches US levels and exceeding European levels in many enterprises. It demanded that Congress direct the administration to develop a national policy to meet China’s challenge and maintain our competitive leadership.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
In the 2004 presidential election, al-Qaeda is for Bush.
George Bush’s premeditated, unprovoked war in Iraq has played into Osama bin Laden's hands. Journalist Max Rodenbeck, based in Cairo, writes in 'The Economist’ that the underlining objective of bin Laden and his followers is to radically reform Islam. Attacking America and its allies is merely a tactic to rally other Muslims to their cause. Following the Madrid bombings, al-Qaeda stated, “The organization hoped George Bush would win reelection 'because he acts with force rather than wisdom or shrewdness, and it is his religious fanaticism that will rouse our (Islamic) nation, as has been shown. Being targeted by an enemy is what will wake us from our slumber." (Arabic news web site www.elaph.com.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Bush’s Corporate Payoffs.
The 30 companies that own most of the dirtiest power plants in the country and their trade associations have raised $6.6 million for President Bush and the Republican National Committee since 1999. Subsequently, they were rewarded with relief from pollution regulations resulting from the aggressive enforcement actions of the Clinton administration requiring them to install billions of dollars worth of pollution controls at coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, those same polluters have enjoyed billions of dollars in subsidies, cost and tax abatements, and liability wavers during the last four years.
Bush paybacks for corporate contributions include: 1. Public lands drilling, 2. Liability waivers for MTBE, 3. Not reauthorizing the Superfund Tax, and 4. Loopholes in ‘the New Source Review’ requiring industries to update pollution controls when their changes increase emissions.
Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, said it was a "classic" story about the role of campaign contributions in Washington. The power industry’s strategy was to "help elect an industry-friendly president, fill federal regulatory posts with former utility executives and lobbyists, and hire a small army of lobbyists and lawyers connected to the new president to engineer regulatory changes."
The Bush Administration has shown time and time again, that it cares more about corporate polluters than the public's interest in a clean, healthy environment.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FACTORY THAT BUSH TOUTED CLOSES WITH 1,300 OHIOANS LEFT JOBLESS.
Last April, President Bush visited a Timken Company manufacturing plant in Ohio to press for passage of new tax cuts that he said would spur the economy. During the speech Bush said that "the future of this company is bright and therefore, the future of employment is bright for the families that work here". However, less than a year after the tax cuts for the wealthy passed, that same factory is shutting down -- putting about 1,300 people out of work and inflicting a "devastating" blow to the Canton community.
With the White House pushing even more tax cuts for the wealthy and supporting outsourcing of American jobs, Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs since President Bush took office.
Of course, one person who will not be feeling the pain of the President's economic policies is W.R. "Tim" Timken - a top Bush fundraiser and the man who decided to shut down the factory. Having made more than $2.6 million last year, Timken stands to receive $59,000 in new tax breaks this year from Bush’s tax cut for the rich. (Timken also happens to have raised $600,000 for the President in one night.) By contrast, 89% of Ohio residents will receive less than $100 by 2006 from the latest Bush tax cuts.
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