# How Bush is going to fix the economy... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386 "2003-01-03T07:43:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/1 "2003-01-03T07:43:53Z")
Simple: Stop telling people how bad it is… [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/03/LAZARUS.TMP](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/03/LAZARUS.TMP) > [@](#): > > …businesses cutting back didn’t exactly jibe with the White House’s recent declarations that prosperity is right around the corner. > > \ > > news of the program’s termination came only in the form of a single paragraph buried deep within a press release issued on Christmas Eve about November’s mass layoffs. So - Christmas Eve, we kill the unemployment reporting, and New Year’s Eve we gut the Clean Air Act. What was the phrase? Oh yeah, “Compassionate Conservatism” I love oxymorons (and their Supreme Court buddies). ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/2 "2003-01-03T08:48:31Z")
And don’t forget, as of Dec. 23 Bush and the Repub Congress killed unemployment funds for 900.000 Americans, while simultaneously voting themselves pay raises. Oh, Bush has fixed the economy alrighty. He has fixed it GOOD. ---
**Author:** ![I\_am\_Sparticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@I\_am\_Sparticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_am_Sparticus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/3 "2003-01-03T09:02:48Z")
But hey, we voted for it. Oh, wait, we didn’t, did we? Less than half the sorry sons of bitches who bother to vote, voted for Bush. The real blame lies in the people who don’t bother to vote. They don’t deserve freedom. It is a sorry state of affairs that their lack of the freedom they don’t deserve doesn’t make me at all happy. They, on the other hand, are such sorry idiots that they don’t realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/4 "2003-01-03T10:14:07Z")
Lame. I hope a moderator sends this to the Pit or to GD soon. Partisan bickering puts me off my feed. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/5 "2003-01-03T13:14:36Z")
It’s mother’s milk to me. The more they bicker the less they actually accomplish. That leaves the world in **my** O so benevolent hands… ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/6 "2003-01-03T14:16:56Z")
Seems like a dash of the old Ronald Reagan - voodoo economics courtesy of Bush Sr. Dang, who was it that said the more things change the more they stay the same? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/7 "2003-01-03T16:13:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > \*\*Lame. > > I hope a moderator sends this to the Pit or to GD soon. Partisan bickering puts me off my feed. \*\* Oh, please. The phrase “partisan bickering” is such a cheap shot. I have substantive differences with the way the Repubs run things. I air those differences. You may call me “partisan” though my allegiance to the Dems is lukewarm at best. But just because it’s partisan, or politically slanted, doesn’t make it “bickering.” ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/8 "2003-01-03T16:38:11Z")
**Bush to unveil economic package next week** [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/bush.economy/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/bush.economy/index.html) Let’s hope he truly understands the lessons his father learned the hard way. As much as I’d like to see a political blunder that boots him out of office in 2004, I’d still prefer a good economic boost as soon as possible so I can get a job. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/9 "2003-01-03T19:11:05Z")
**Moderator’s Notes:** > [@](#): > > I hope a moderator sends this to the Pit or to GD soon. Partisan bickering puts me off my feed. _Agreed._ > [@](#): > > But just because it’s partisan, or politically slanted, doesn’t make it “bickering.” Perhaps not. But that’s the way I read this thread; it’s a gripe, a bitch, a rant, a complaint, a beef, a bleat, a disapprobation, a clamor, an outcry, a deprecation, a bellyache, a _collywobble_ . . . whatever. Mild yes, but Pit fodder nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/10 "2003-01-03T19:19:04Z")
Jes relating the facts, sir… and - syncophantic Republican mods throw threads containing evidence of GOP misdeeds to the PIT! but as long as the rich are able to raid the treasury, all will be OK, right? ---
**Author:** ![Azael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Azael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azael)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/11 "2003-01-03T19:21:09Z")
Keep bickering, maybe one day you will figure out that the President doesn’t control the economy… God forbid. Never mind, that might require actually learning about economics beforehand… oh well. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/12 "2003-01-03T19:29:10Z")
> [@](#): > > and - syncophantic Republican mods throw threads containing evidence of GOP misdeeds to the PIT! I assumed if you wanted some kinda debate, you’d have started this in _Great Debates_. Since you elected to not do that . . . here it lies. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I throw rants about Democratic misdeeds to the PIT, too. Or Libertarian, or Independent, or Bull Moose, Socialist, Jacobin, Trotskyist, Facist, Falangist, and probably even Fabian . . . You gettin’ the drift? Anyway, I more prefer to be identified as a _Mugwump_ than a Republican sycophant. > [@](#): > > but as long as the rich are able to raid the treasury, all will be OK, right? As long as **I’m** one of the rich. You betcher pimply ass. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/13 "2003-01-03T19:35:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\* > > As long as **I’m** one of the rich. You betcher pimply ass. \*\* Behold the new slogan for the Republican Party; replacing “I’m all right, Jack, fuck you.” ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/14 "2003-01-03T19:42:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*Oh, Bush has fixed the economy alrighty. He has fixed it GOOD. \*\* The fix is in, as the saying goes… And now it’s “partisan” to criticize Bush. There’s good reasoning for you. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/15 "2003-01-03T19:54:57Z")
I still don’t understand why in an alledgedly free country, it is the Government’s responsibility to “fix” the economy in the first place. Market economies generally find ways to fix themselves. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/16 "2003-01-03T19:59:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Behold the new slogan for the Republican Party; replacing “I’m all right, Jack, fuck you.” Conversely, the Democratic party could use, “Whoa, you’re fucked up, Jack. Just bend over here for second and we’ll fix ya right up.” ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/17 "2003-01-03T20:07:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*I still don’t understand why in an alledgedly free country, it is the Government’s responsibility to “fix” the economy in the first place. Market economies generally find ways to fix themselves. \*\* I agree with this sentiment… which begs the question why Bush is trying to “fix” it in the first place, with his tax cuts and “stimulus packages.” Never mind that all of his proposed methods of “fixing” it benefit his rich buddies, while ignoring (or hurting) the less fortunate. I think the problem here is how we’re definig “fix.” The definition most of us are using is this one: > [@](#): > > 1 a : to make firm, stable, or stationary Or perhaps this one: > [@](#): > > 4 : to set in order These aren’t the definitions Bush is using, though… when Bush talks about a “fix” for something, such as the economy, here’s the definition he’s using: > [@](#): > > **7 a : to get even with b : to influence the actions, outcome, or effect of by improper or illegal methods \** Ah yes… it’s all crystal clear now. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/18 "2003-01-03T20:15:37Z")
Partisan bickering is a good thing. The only way to avoid it is to have a one-party system where everybody either holds the party line or is an enemy of the state. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/19 "2003-01-03T20:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*I still don’t understand why in an alledgedly free country, it is the Government’s responsibility to “fix” the economy in the first place. Market economies generally find ways to fix themselves. \*\* I’m not an economist, but the free market economy you refer to is no longer a system unto itself. This may have been true 40 years ago, but it’s becoming less true all the time. This (meaning the US) market economy is now just another cog in a much larger machine. For many business, particularly for durable goods, competing with other economic powers is going to be a long bloody war. Once, emerging economies relied on low labor cost to compete. So long as the technology was high enough, and efficiency offset higher labor costs, the damage was minimal. However, a couple decades have lapsed since we first learned this, and those advantages have eroded. This in and of itself is bad enough, but OEM/CEM pressure to supply ever cheaper sub-components and consumer refusal to allow prices to stabilize have fueled the shifting of many industries overseas. How do you fix it? I haven’t got a clue, but it is my opinion it will not self repair. What is being done about? I still haven’t got a clue. It looks like very little. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386/20 "2003-01-03T20:37:08Z")
If partisan bickering is serving some sort of purpose, than it would be worthwhile. But, this is simply a post decrying the evils of the Bush administration by trying to say that the release of negative or undesirable news at a time when it might be overlooked is somehow yet another vile act by Bush instead of a public relations move that has been repeated countless times by any number of groups. [Delta added a fee for stand-by travelers.](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021227/ap_on_bi_ge/delta_standby_2) They announced that on Friday, Dec 27, hardly a day that most people were in their normal news listening patterns. Sometimes, bad news is released at a time when it is more likely to be overlooked. Sometimes it’s just a function of timing. Regardless, it’s probably not something to get the dander too riled up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bush-is-going-to-fix-the-economy/146386.md?page=2)