Bush’s 5 Smartest and Dumbest Economic Moves

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or are you trying to convience yourself...

marwan of VA 7:44PM August 11, 2008

Say,uh,Jim - I think you turned your work into USN&WR too quickly! You mistakenly labeled the first 5 as "Smartest." If you truly believe that then I think you should stick to your majors in history and politics and leave the economics to someone who knows what the H they're talking about

silverleaf10 of WA 2:28PM August 11, 2008

You're slacking, Chris. Used to be better. Name-calling (Messiah stuff) isn't a substitute for point-making. The house, college education, hospital stay and gas ARE purchased here---with near-half dollars.
Gotta agree with you, though, on Bear Stearns. It's just that corporations now have Americans over such a barrel that our whole-world financial house would burn down if we didn't prop some of them up.
Heck of a job, Republicans. Thanks for "protecting" us.

Daniel David of NM 3:38PM August 07, 2008

Wouldn't the steel tariff's Bush imposed in 2002 have to be counted among his dumbest economic moves? The WTO authorized retaliatory action by our closest trading partners, after which the administration backed down and dropped them. Seems pretty dumb.

Jack Stephens of CA 2:56PM August 07, 2008

Well, Daniel, when your Messiah gets elected we can see exactly how command and control does for the economy.
"Buy a house, a college education, a hospital stay, or a gallon of gas or anything in a foreign country and get back to us how you did with your 2008 dollar vs. your 2000 dollar."
You live in Amerca. You transact in America. Why in the world would you care what the currency exchange rate is in another country?
On Bush's economic plusses and minuses, you can also add the stimulus package under the minuses, as well as the Fannie and Freddie and Bear Stearns bailouts. Yeah, yeah, they were "too big to fail", but that is exactly why we're in this mess, because we allowed them to get too big to fail. As for Bear Stearns, the bailout should not have been guaranteed by the Fed. The financial markets are incredibly fluid and one investment bank failing is not going to crash the entire system.

Chris of AZ 2:14PM August 07, 2008

Lifting the "executive" ban on offshore drilling dropped oil prices? While Congress still has a ban in law? C'mon. It's spin. Lifting the "executive" ban is nothing but Bush II flip-flopping the ban signed by Bush I for political points and only about a month ago. Drilling there is still as banned as ever and you know it.
The 2001 tax cuts for people were not good? The 2003 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy were good? C'mon, again. That's not just spin, its lying.
As for Medicare D being dumb? Yeah, maybe. But because it handed more than half the benefit to corporations, not because it added obligations to government ostensibly for seniors.
And fighting a fully unfunded war is "a foundation for economic growth?" Absolutely--IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A MILITARY CONTRACTOR.
But I'll bet YOU aren't one. YOU are the one who saw the value of YOUR DOLLAR fall by about half. Too much, you say? Not "by half"? Buy a house, a college education, a hospital stay, or a gallon of gas or anything in a foreign country and get back to us how you did with your 2008 dollar vs. your 2000 dollar.

Dabiel David of NM 11:02AM August 07, 2008