Phony Good News. Sean Hannity, the rightwing member of the conservative-liberal Fox News Channel duo Hannity & Colmes, last nite talked glowingly of the good news that he sees for the Bush Administration, improving poll numbers, declining gas prices, strong employment numbers. All crap.
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The reality is that nothing has changed but gas prices, and Bush had nothing to do with that. Wait until heating season arrives (fortunately, before the November election; unfortunately, the heartland of Republican support, the South, has a mild climate) and see what fuel-oil prices are.
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Bush admitted earlier this year that he couldn't do anything to stop rising gas prices, but is now to claim credit for falling gas prices? I don't think so. There is a natural drop in demand with the end of the summer recreational-driving season, so of course there's a drop in gas prices.
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In like fashion, when kids return to school from summer jobs, and businesses return to work mode after vacation season, there is always an uptick in employment. But what kind of jobs are we creating, and who is filling them? How much do they pay? And are pay rates kept artificially low by the Bush Administration's failure to protect American workers from unfair foreign competition, even in our own country? Just watch any of the news channels often enuf and you will hear lots of foreign accents. American journalists can't even find work on American news channels! Many of the best jobs in this country are being given to foreigners, even in industries, like journalism, in which there is no shortage of qualified workers. Do you really think Fox News and CNN could not find Americans able to sit behind a desk and read the news aloud? Why should there EVER be a foreigner in such a job?
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Not content with offshoring/outsourcing to India, China, and elsewhere a host of jobs once held by Americans — perhaps 18 million over the past ten years, tho we can't really have any hard count, can we, since the U.S. Labor Department can't collect statistics in Asia — U.S. corporations are importing foreigners to take jobs Americans are perfectly willing, able, and even eager to do, from entry-level computer programmers to CEO's. And the Bush Administration pretends that that is in our interest. Perhaps that's because we don't allow foreigners to become President, Senator, or Congressmen — yet.
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These imported workers are glad to work cheap, which puts downward pressure on American wages. Supposed wage gains of as "high" as 2.8% — golly! a whole 2.8% raise in just a single year? wow! — are more than offset by inflation higher than wage gains! So the bulk of American workers are actually losing out in real dollars.
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They are also assailed by outlandishly high interest rates that the Federal Government smiles upon, and falling ever deeper into debt every year going forward. The Administration has done nothing about this even for our "heroes" in the military, who are being victimized by "payday lenders" who are permitted to charge 391% interest, and even more, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission itself! In an article September 6th about attempts to rein in "payday lenders", the website The Hill, says:

Payday loans allow borrowers to take an advance on their next paycheck, with lenders taking upwards of $15 in fees for every $100 lent on a short-term repayment schedule. Expressed as an annual percentage rate, interest rates on typical payday loans range from 400 to 800 percent.

And even if an interest cap (presently contemplated at 36%! which is still outrageous usury) were enacted, offshore lenders would continue to make loans at higher rates, thanks to our precious "globalization". And the Bush Administration won't do a thing to stop it. So this Administration, which relies upon military force more than any other, is content not just to pay its soldiers less than they need to get by — so they have to borrow from someone, and "payday lenders" are it (why can't the Pentagon set up an in-house loan program like an employee credit union?) — but also to let foreigners abuse American service personnel. Astounding.
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This is the Administration we are to endorse in November? Can even Southerners be so stupid and self-despising as to continue to elect the very people who are crushing them? We'll see. Soon.
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(The current U.S. military death toll in Iraq, according to the website "Iraq Coalition Casualties", is 2,693 — for Israel.)




- posted by L. Craig Schoonmaker @ 2:56 PM