TRANSFORMING THE ECONOMY -- The Ownership Society: Score One For Bush!

Iconoclast ^ | by R. Bastiat

[Apolitical]

George W. Bush's remarkable vision of an "Ownership Society" was perhaps the one fresh, bold, and exciting idea to emerge from the 2004 presidential campaign, and it clearly struck a responsive chord with the American electorate.

In a novel twist on the usual top-down, government-centered themes that previous chief executives have employed to define their presidencies -- the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, the Great Society -- Bush actually proposed a radical bottom-up, people-centered philosophy to guide the agenda for his second term. Its liberating message is clear and pointed:

Return control of their lives to individuals and families, and get the government off their backs!

[Apolitical]

Hmmmm.

[basil]

Kinda sounds like Utopia, doesn't it? If all of this comes to pass, we will certainly be on our way back to being a free society!

[kitkat]

Now THAT was a pleasure to read.

[Reagan Man]

Return control of their lives to individuals and families, and get the government off their backs!

Exactly what Reagan preached. The very essence of conservatism.

[Between the Lines]

Return control of their lives to individuals, families and states and get the federal government off their backs!

[Grampa Dave]

Great article, and it sheds more light on why left wingers hate GW so much.

[lodwick]

Hmmmm, indeed. I'll believe it when the patriot acts are repealed and homeland security goes away, AND the borders are closed.

[Southack]

What is wrong with the Patriot Act?

I for one *like* freeing our CIA to talk to our FBI, as well as forcing banks to finally encrypt and restrict their customer data from their old policies of full corporate access.

[Soul Seeker]

IF one is only interested in fixating on spending exclusively, they miss the central ingredients of his legislation that generally favor increased personal responsibility. This is certainly true with his approach to the economy, S.S. and tax reform.

Should his proposals pass largely intact, G.W. will have put into play policies that will slowly choke the public favoring Big Government. It's a long term solution to cutting dependence gradually without the public registering more than an eye blink at the change.

This is why many will oppose these pieces of legislation on both aisles.

[raybbr]

Private ownership diffuses the power that would otherwise be centralized with federal authorities. It serves to preserve privacy and protect individuals from arbitrary government actions, and it gives people a greater stake in the well-being of their communities -- fostering a concern for the quality of life, environmental issues, and the upkeep of their homes and neighborhoods.

A good start at the Federal level. At the same time state and local governments eat us alive.

There is a long history of government growth and like welfare many people rely on govt for too much. Governments themselves are now capable of reproducing. They have become self-fullfilling.

Ask the average person about politics and they will tell you one of two things: All politicians are crooks and there's nothing you can do about it. Or, we need government because we are not capable of taking care of our society ourselves because there are too many extremists.

Each statement represents a defeatist attitude and even George Bush's proprosal of ownership is met with ardent skepticism. Socialism has become a much bigger part of our society than we like to admit. Reliance on government is pervasive and will not be removed easily.

Are we too late? I hope not. On most days I feel we are headed in the wrong direction with no way to stem the flow.

[raybbr]

I for one *like* freeing our CIA to talk to our FBI,...

What part of the Patriot Act was that in? I thought that's what we needed the "Information Czar" for?

On the whole I like the idea of the Patriot Act but just like every law passed today it's so general and tries to please so many that its intent gets watered down. Further, with so large a scope the potential for abuse is very great.

[Willie Green]

Kinda sounds like Utopia, doesn't it?

"Ownership society" is Dubya's euphemism for "plutocracy".

Bush's "Ownership Society" Already Doomed by his Trade Policies

[basil]

Willie--once in a while, could you try on a bit of optimism for a change?

[raybbr]

ping

[Willie Green]

Willie--once in a while, could you try on a bit of optimism for a change?

What is there to be optimistic about?

Here's the scorecard on 4 years of Dubya's "achievements":
US drops out of world's 10 freest economies list, says WSJ
He exports our businesses and industries,
undercuts our wages and benefits with illegal immigrant labor,
and buries us unimaginably deeper in National Debt.

The PRI has ruled over an "ownership society" in Mexico for decades,
I'm simply unenchanted by Dubya's efforts to foist the same scam on the American Middle Class.

[1rudeboy]

Never mind Willie, if he didn't do it, the only ones here playing the class-warfare card would be the trolls.

[1rudeboy]

Here's one you forgot:

Here’s to a Good Year: A Look at Employment Gains in 2004.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Willie--once in a while, could you try on a bit of optimism for a change?

Willie took this ad to heart!!

[KwasiOwusu]

Read this :

"The household measure shows a 2.5 million jobs gain during Bush’s first term and a whopping 4.2 million increase since the end of the 2001 recession. It’s a real measure, too: It gives us the unemployment rate. It also does not triple-count job gains or losses, as is the case with the payroll survey, while it does include self-employed workers and independent contractors, key parts of our new Internet-based information economy.

Then there’s the positive impact of reduced marginal tax rates. The Bush supply-side tax cuts were implemented early in 2003, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, a burst technology bubble, and the corporate scandals. They caused an immediate jolt to the economy, as both employment and investment responded to a badly-needed dose of economic incentives. By taxing work and investment less, the economy got much more of both.

Here are a few simple facts. In the six quarters after Bush’s tax cuts, real GDP expanded at a 4.6 percent annual rate, much faster than the 2.5 percent pace of the six earlier recovery quarters. Consumer spending jumped from 2.8 percent to 3.9 percent Business investment in new plant and equipment surged to 13.4 percent from only 1 percent before the tax cuts. Personal income jumped to a 5 percent growth rate, nearly double the earlier speed of 2.6 percent. The average employment gain (combining both surveys) was 2.4 million compared with virtually no gain before the tax cuts.

Corporate profits, without which businesses cannot create jobs, now stand at a record $1.118 trillion — 56 percent above their recession trough, 25 percent above the prior recovery peak of the late ’90s, and at a near-record 9.5 percent of GDP. Broad stock market averages have jumped 60 percent from their lows. Home ownership is at an all-time high, as are existing home sales. U.S. household wealth stands at a record $51 trillion."

http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.asp?ref=/kudlow/kudlow200412300923.asp

There, that should cheer you up some. :)

[Willie Green]

Bubble inflated by the accumulation of over $1.5 TRILLION in National Debt.