Bush Admin Hid Truth About Economy from Day One

July 31 (Bloomberg) — The first 12 months of the U.S. recession saw the economy shrink more than twice as much as previously estimated, reflecting even bigger declines in consumer spending and housing, revised figures showed.

The world’s largest economy contracted 1.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the last three months of 2008, compared with the 0.8 percent drop previously on the books, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.

“The current downturn beginning in 2008 is more pronounced,” Steven Landefeld, director of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, said in a press briefing this week…

Spending:

Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, decreased 1.8 percent in last year’s fourth quarter from the same period in 2007, exceeding the prior estimate of a 1.5 percent drop. Purchases also began sinking sooner than previously projected, registering their first decline at the start of 2008 rather than in the second half.

Recession Start:

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the accepted arbiter of U.S. business cycles, last year determined the recession started in December 2007…

Over the most recent period, the third quarter of 2008 underwent one of the biggest changes, going from a 0.5 percent decrease in gross domestic product to a 2.7 percent drop…

The deeper deterioration last year underscores why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues at the central bank cut the benchmark rate to a record low and extended credit to non-banks for the first time since the 1930s.

The new GDP data also help explain why the unemployment rate shot up 2.3 percentage points last year, the biggest annual jump since 1982…

2001 Recession Milder:

The revisions showed that the 2001 recession was less severe than originally estimated, reflecting a smaller decline in business investment. The economy actually grew 0.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000 to the third quarter of 2001, erasing the 0.2 percent drop previously reported. ..

In my humble opinion this goes to show Americans just what kind of mess President Obama and the Democratic Party took on January 20, 2009.  It was much worse than what the Bush administration was letting Americans know about.

As for the recession of 2001, as first reported, it started in 2001 – NOT in 2000 as the Bush people would have you believe, and — it was much milder than they were making it out to be.

This story in my view, just proves that the Bush administration lied to the American people from day one of taking office.

GDP Shrank only 1%

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – The pace of economic decline slowed substantially in the second quarter, as the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 1% — far less than it did in the first quarter, according to a government report released Friday.

The economy has been mired in recession since December 2007, worsening in recent quarters. The fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 measured the worst two quarterly declines in 26 years, when the nation’s gross domestic product fell a revised 5.4% and 6.4% respectively.

GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity, has contracted for four straight quarters — the first time that has happened since the Commerce Department began tracking that measure in 1947. But the most recent quarterly decline is the smallest since the third quarter of 2008, giving hope to some economists that the recession is nearing an end.

Well it seems with loss of jobs slowing down, the housing market picking up, housing values increasing and now this marker — that we may finally be on the road to recovery.

YAHOO!

Photo Op – Wrong Thing To Do

Sgt. James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr., both dressed in suits, sat down with Obama and Biden, who both had their white dress shirt sleeves rolled up.

Video from the meeting showed mugs of beer being delivered to the men, who sat at a round table at the edge of the White House’s Rose Garden, munching peanuts and pretzels from silver bowls.

The president was drinking Bud Light, Biden was drinking Buckler, Gates was drinking Samuel Adams Light and Crowley was drinking Blue Moon.

While I think it was ok to meet with both gentlemen; but having the meeting in public was the wrong thing to do.  It will just keep the story in the news for another week.  It also shows Obama’s political side.  It showed he wasn’t just interested in calming the issue down between the two men, it showed he wanted ‘coverage’ for doing so.  I use to criticize Bush for doing this so I feel the need to say something about this as well.

If you need to say your are sorry, calm some nerves or explain your actions, just do it — don’t brag about it or make political hay over it.

Ban Perfume Immediately!

FORT WORTH, Texas - At first, fire officials suspected that carbon monoxide or some other poisonous fumes might have sickened almost 150 people at a Fort Worth bank call center.

They learned someone’s perfume was to blame.

MedStar ambulance spokeswoman Lara Kohl said 34 people were taken to hospitals, 12 by ambulance, after reporting dizziness and shortness of breath at the Bank of America call center. She said another 110 were treated at the scene and released…

I can just about hear those obsessed nutcases now, demanding that perfumes be banned from public places and have a warning label put on the bottles for consumers because of this and other stories like it, can’t you?

Being an ex-smoker, I use to say that if you ban my smoking because it ‘bothers’ your breathing or the smell bugs you, then perhaps we should also ban perfumes, deodorants and hairsprays?  I’m sure some people, like in this story, have health issues with certain odors — so…let’s ban EVERYTHING that smells!  Except food that is…..Who’s with me on this????

Dog Found: 1,200 Miles Away, 9 Years Later

SYDNEY - Nine years after vanishing from outside her Australian family’s home, Muffy the dog was found alive and well this month in another backyard — 1,200 miles away — officials said Thursday.

Inspectors with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were investigating a possible animal cruelty case at a home in the southern city of Melbourne two weeks ago when they found the fluffy white mutt sleeping outside on a scrap of cardboard, Victoria state RSPCA spokesman Tim Pilgrim said.

A microchip in Muffy’s neck identified her owners, and, after a few days of searching for a current phone number, officials tracked down Natalie Lampard, who hadn’t seen Muffy since the pooch disappeared from her backyard in the eastern city of Brisbane nine years ago.

Yet another amazing “Dog Found” story!  I love these. Maybe someday somebody will invent a way to include a GPS signal within these microchips so that the owner can be told where they are at any given time?

Personally, I think this would be a good idea to do to children as well, till they reach the age of 18, and then they can have it removed if they so desired. It would help find lost or stolen children.

Maddow: Rep Senator Trips to Promote Family’s Views

Go Vote:

BREAKING NEWS!

WASHINGTON - The economy is finally beginning to show signs of stabilizing in some regions of the country, bolstering hopes of a broader-based recovery this year.

A Federal Reserve snapshot of economic conditions issued Wednesday found that most of the Fed’s 12 regions indicated either that the recession was easing or that economic activity had “begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level.”

This is great news!  Pass it on folks — part of our problem is psychological!  Americans need to have more ‘confidence’.

Where is Dick Cheney? More Important – Where is Media?

Awhile back it was reported that VP Dick Cheney wanted to hide from Congress a plan to assassinate high-ranking members of al Qaeda.  The action itself wasn’t the story, it was that he hid the information from Congress.

Soon after that, another story came out about six Yemeni-American men living just outside Buffalo suspected of having al-Qaida ties that were going to be arrested by the FBI back in 2002, but before they did, Vice President Dick Cheney wanted to have the U.S. military detain and hold the men as enemy combatants, denying them the legal process afforded accused Americans.

Since those two stories were reported, former vice president Dick Cheney has been surprisingly absent from the media scene.  I wonder why?  Where is he?  Why isn’t he out defending himself like before?  Oh sure, his daughter came out for a bit; but not him, why?  Could it be that he has no ‘comeback’ or ‘wise crack’ to the media?

Is he guilty of hiding facts from Congress?  Is he also guilty of wanting to use troops  to apprehend al Qaeda suspects which would have been the first time since the Civil War that active-duty troops were used without statutory authority in a law enforcement capacity on American soil?

Why isn’t the media hounding this man for answers to these questions?  Will the U.S. Attorney General do anything about these accusations?  Will he do anything about any of the allegations about the previous administration?

Seems odd how the media will spend days, even weeks discussing an ‘opinion’ made by the president about an illegal arrest of a professor from inside his own home; but they can’t spend any time looking into allegations of illegality by the Vice President of these United States.

Obama: 8 Reasons to Support Health Reform

Obama he will unveil the following, eight-part message, designed to convince the insurance masses that reform will be good for them:

* No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.

* No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.

* No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.

* No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.

* No Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.

* No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.

* Extended Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.

* Guaranteed Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won’t be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

While I agree that all these points are good to know about and have, however, they don’t tell me the downside.  There’s always a downside to reform of any kind.  What’s going to be take away or allowed?

There’s nothing in here that says the Doctor and the Patient will make the decisions about the health care given — not some group of so-called experts, whether they be from insurance companies or the medical profession.  Wouldn’t that be one good reason to support this plan?  Why isn’t it mentioned?  Could it be because that will not be the case.

Will patients that are obese, that smoke or drink alcohol, drive race cars, fly airplanes, work with dangerous chemicals, do construction on tall buildings, etc… be forced to pay more for their insurance based on their lifestyle?  Who decides that?

Will the insurance companies and/or health reform plan that currently offers prescription drug coverage force customers into the Bush prescription drug program instead?  In other words, will health, dental, vision and hearing(?) be included in one plan or split up into individual plans?

So many questions, very few answers.