[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: Economic Reality Bites

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

 I HEART HUCKABEES - OPENING IN SELECT CITIES OCTOBER 1

 From David O. Russell, writer and director of THREE KINGS
 and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER comes an existential comedy
 starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Hupert, Jude Law, Jason
 Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts.
 Watch the trailer now at:

 http://www.foxsearchlight.com/huckabees/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


Economic Reality Bites

August 28, 2004
 


 

If anyone required further evidence that President Bush's
fiscal policies have not worked the way he says they have,
this week's report from the Census Bureau provided it. In
brief, from 2001 through 2003, poverty increased, income
stagnated and the ranks of the uninsured grew, while the
United States spent some $400 billion on tax cuts, which
mainly benefited wealthy families. The Bush administration
seemed intent on minimizing the political impact of the
report, releasing the data on Thursday, instead of the
usual date in late September, to get it done before the
convention. But the numbers spoke for themselves. Since Mr.
Bush came to power, 4.3 million people have fallen below
the poverty line, set at $18,660 for a family of four in
2003, bringing the total number of people living in poverty
in 2003 to 35.9 million, or 12.5 percent of the American
population. 

The poor will always suffer most from recession and job
losses. But one sure way to stem the slide into poverty is
by bolstering state programs that directly benefit the
poor, like job training, health care and child care. The
administration devoted only 3 percent of its stimulus
spending to aid for state governments. Congress and the
administration have also done nothing to enhance the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. As a
result, while the number of children living in poverty
increased by 11 percent over the past three years, the
number of children receiving welfare declined by 10 percent
over the same period. Adding to the gloom, median family
income - $44,853 in 2000 - fell by $1,535 during the
administration's first three years, while the number of
Americans without health insurance, according to the Census
Bureau, grew by 5.2 million, to 45 million in 2003. The
president and Congress have largely ignored this problem,
while leaving little room to address it later by ballooning
the deficit with tax cuts. 

A Bush campaign official suggested that the census report
was misleading because it did not reflect the economic
growth of the past 11 months. In fact, the report covers
all of 2003. And in three of the seven months of 2004 for
which data is available, job growth has not been strong
enough to even keep up with population growth. Moreover, a
Commerce Department report released yesterday showed that
economic momentum slowed in the spring, with the economy
expanding at a rate of only 2.8 percent, the slowest
advance in more than a year, versus 3.0 percent as
originally reported. The downward revision reflects June's
record trade deficit of $55.8 billion. 

It remains to be seen whether this week's bad economic news
turns out to be bad political news for Mr. Bush. But for
tens of millions of Americans, it is already old news. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/opinion/28sat1.html?ex=1094721036&ei=1&en=23947a444199e5d9


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company