Posted on 11/22/2005 6:04:39 PM PST by wagglebee
RUSH: So Mr. Snerdley comes in today, folks, and he says, "This economy has to be humming." Well, there's no question that it's humming. His definition of a humming economy is he can't find an X-Box 360. He went out there and tried to find an X-Box 360, the new one. The base price is between three and four hundred dollars, and with other bundles thrown in there, it's between eight and nine hundred dollars. Some are listed now by a grand by resellers online because there's such a demand for these things. He can't find one. I said, "You want an X-Box 360?" He says, "No, I'm trying to buy one for a friend of mine's kid. It's Christmastime and so forth." This happened with the Sony PlayStation 2 some years ago. You couldn't get one of those either, but there's no question the economy is rolling. I had a bunch of stuff left over from yesterday's program. One of these stories, NewsMax from last week, one week ago today, in fact, on the 15th: "Former GE Chairman and business management guru Jack Welch has some advice for President George W. Bush: Start bragging about the economy." You know, the media is sitting out there trying to make this economy sound like it's all Katrina all the time all over the country. They're trying to make it sound like this is still soup line America. They're still talking about high gas prices. By the way, have you seen that gas prices in parts of the country are now under two bucks? The national average is now $2.20 or something like that. It's still $2.08 in New Jersey. New Jersey is a refinery, for that matter, so they've got their gasoline right there.
You go to Giants Stadium, all you got to do is back your car up to the nearest swamp; put a hose in it; siphon what's in the swamp into your car and drive off. They've got fuel all over that state so it's priced at two bucks and eight cents a gallon according to numerous people who admit to living there who have told me this in e-mails today. The gasoline price is coming down. We've got this story: Hugo Chavez has offered discounted home heating oil from his CITGO stations here in the United States. We talked about this yesterday, but we now know who went down and negotiated this: a congressman from Massachusetts. The guy's name is Bill Delahunt. He went down there. He had a four-hour lunch or dinner with Hugo Chavez, asking for this deal. They put it together. Nobody else in the government knew that Delahunt was down there doing this. It's interesting that Delahunt did not go to the Kennedy family. Peter Schweizer's book indicates the Kennedy family owns all these oil wells and oil companies and they could have made the deal for his own constituents in Massachusetts, but Kennedy didn't do that. The president is supposed to do foreign policy, but obviously Bill Delahunt, according to this story, is fast becoming America's premier expert on Latin America -- and so he went down there and did this on his own.
Can you imagine? Delahunt goes down there basically asking Hugo Chavez, "Hey, can you cut us a deal for our constituents in Massachusetts?" What happened? I'll get to the story here in due course as the program unfolds before your very eyes. But anyway, the point is that the economy is rolling, and the press is trying to make it out to be anything other than that, and that's why Jack Welch is out there saying that Bush needs to start bragging about this economy because the media's also saying, "This is really crazy because there are reports of a strong economy in some parts of the country. It doesn't seem to be resounding to the president's approval numbers," and of course the age-old theory has been... Oh, Brian, turn on the Dittocam. I meant to have you turn on the Dittocam from the top of the program. I'm sorry, folks. The Dittocam is now on, should show up on your computer screens in mere moments. Generally when you've got a great economy, that trumps everything as far as presidential approval numbers are concerned, but I have to tell you something. As much as the media has been hammering this president, hammering the war, promoting Democrat causes and liberal causes, it's not surprising to me that the president's approval numbers are what they are. But do you know this? If you look at polling data, you will find this -- and I don't have the numbers right in front of me, but if you look at the polling numbers you will find that Bush's approval numbers are low.
You will find that Republican Congressional approval numbers are low, and then you will find that the Democrats' approval numbers, Congressional and Senate Democrats' approval numbers are lower than both the president's and the Republicans in Congress. Now, what do you make of that? I'll tell you what I make of it. It's what I've always said. For those of you worried about these approval numbers and these polls and so forth, don't sweat it because it doesn't mean the Democrats are picking up all this good cheer and goodwill now. They're just as despised and distrusted and hated as ever. Nobody's looking to them as the answer here. I think all these polls indicate is exactly what you would feel like if you did nothing but watch the news 24/7. You would think your country's finished. You would think it's over. You would think there's no reason to be an American anymore. You would think being an American's a dirty word. You would think being a United States citizen is absolutely criminal, practically. It's no wonder people think the country is headed in the wrong direction when the mainstream press and all their local outlets, these newspapers and TV stations around the country, focus on all of these negative things for the express purpose of getting Democrats reelected.
But the dirty little secret and the piece de resistance is that it's not redounding to the Democrats' benefit. They're not picking up any support for it. In fact, their poll numbers are lower than Bush's and they're lower than the Republicans. Everybody in Washington's approval numbers are down, and frankly there's a part of me that doesn't mind that at all. Really. The less love and adoration, trust and all that for these guys in Washington the better. The more suspicion and distrust of government in general, hubba hubba. I'm in there. We're making progress. A quick time-out, and then more good economic news. Your phone calls are coming up. See, here we go. Here we go. They're in a recession in Michigan. Yep, here we go. Okay. You want to talk negative? I'll talk to you. I'll take the call. We'll do that when we come back. There is a reason GM's in trouble. The layoffs and so forth, and -- well, but it's 30,000 people, "Merry Christmas," losing their jobs. I mean, that can have an attitudinal effect up there. Well, that's the thing. I have the solution for General Motors, and that is just lay off the retirees. If you'd just lay off the retirees, the company would be in much better shape. Quick time-out. We'll be back after this. (Laughter) I know I'm in for it now.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: More on this Jack Welch story. "Welch told Fox News Channel that President Bush has much to be proud of with regard to the economy, but he has to get out there and sell himself - and his accomplishments - to the American people to let them know about it. 'President Bush put a tax bill through that supported capital formation and risk taking,' Welch said. 'We’ve created 2 million jobs a year after the 9/11 attacks. That’s a remarkable accomplishment. Bush has to get out there and talk about it.' Despite the recent natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the U.S. economy continues to grow, and the stock market seems to weather every storm." In fact, last week the stock market was -- well, not at a record high but, I mean, it was at ten seven, the Dow Jones industrial average at 10,700 something. "Welch certainly noticed" all this. " Most business people have noticed. Investors noticed. But, according to the recent polls – which show the president’s approval rating at its lowest level of his presidency – the majority of Americans have not been persuaded of the 'good news economy.'" Now, you know why this is. This is very simple. This is one of the most remarkable phenomena that I recall experiencing as host of this wildly successful program and it is this: We could be in the middle of an economic boom; I get phone calls from people, "Yeah, I'm doing okay, Rush. I am just doing fabulous. But I'm worried about my neighbors."
"Why are you worried about your neighbors? Is the Meals on Wheels showing up at their house every day? What are you worried about?"
"Well, I just see the news on TV and the economy's not doing all that well. People are this and that. I'm just worried about my neighbor."
"Well, do you know that they're doing badly or are you just worried about them?"
"No, I'm doing okay," and then there's some guilt associated with it. So most people's perception of their own economic circumstances are fine but all this negative news makes them think everybody else out there is, you know, eating dirt. They refuse to feel good about it because they think they're going to feel guilty. In the process, Jack Welch said that Bush ought "to take a page from the playbook of former President Ronald Reagan to improve his communication and persuasion skills. 'Ronald Reagan was a master,' Welch said. 'He talked about his accomplishments over and over again - not in a bragging way, but in a disarming way. Reagan reminded everyone of what he did and made them feel good about it – and about him.' Welch said Bush is sometimes too humble - he won’t toot his own horn – but it’s time for some Texas-sized bragging on the part of the White House. 'One in five kids born in the U.S. are going to start their own business,' Welch said. 'We are raising entrepreneurs. They want to start their own businesses and now there are tax laws that are in place to encourage them to do it.' If there are doubters about the success of the U.S. economy, Welch suggested they look overseas – or simply at the TV news – to measure that success. 'Go to France and see the riots in the streets,' Welch said. 'They have massive unemployment and rising percentages of non-citizens who can’t find work. 'Our unemployment rate is less than 5% after the 9/11 attacks. Bush ought to be standing on a soapbox talking about that accomplishment.'" Bush doesn't talk about many of his accomplishments. He's just... Welch is right. He doesn't. He doesn't toot his own horn. All right. Let's go to Southgate, Michigan. This is Elizabeth. I'm glad you called. Nice to have you on the program.
CALLER: Rush?
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: Oh, dittos to you. I listen to you constantly.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: And I'm a true Republican. The reason why I'm calling is, can we trade our governors? I'll give you Granholm and we'll take Jeb Bush. This economy in Michigan is a disaster. My husband recently got laid off from Roush Industries. They do for Ford Motor Company, and he doesn't make $30 an hour. He made $10.50 an hour.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: And I just want to know what is going on in the state. Why is the rest of the country doing so good and Michigan isn't?
RUSH: Well, now, it says up here that you said that everybody in Michigan's getting laid off. Is that true?
CALLER: Yeah. I mean, General Motors, Ford Motor Company --
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: It's bad here.
RUSH: Everybody's getting laid off?
CALLER: Right. Well, practically. We're dealing with the auto companies. Yeah.
RUSH: Well, I've got some interesting stories about that today because you know the Japanese automakers that build their cars in this country are looking for workers, and it is expected that many of the laid-off General Motors workers might, in fact, find their way over to the US manufacturing plants of Toyota and Nissan, Lexus, that sort of thing. It's a Wall Street Journal story that compares the difference in structure between the Japanese auto companies in this country, the Japanese factories in this country, the Japanese factories and the GM factories, and the basic labor costs are the same but they've got more restrictive union problems at General Motors.
CALLER: Oh, I agree with you. I agree with you.
RUSH: Well, I'll get to that story here in just a second because it does say that, but I have to tell you something, Elizabeth. You know, in practically every instance, when we've had, say, a boom economy --
CALLER: Right.
RUSH: -- there have been pockets and sectors of the country that have not participated. I remember -- I forget what year this is. It might be the late '80s, early '90s. When oil prices really came down, this country was just humming.
CALLER: Oh, it was.
RUSH: Except in Texas and Louisiana, the oil business there was taking it on the chin because they had to close and cap a bunch of wells forever because they couldn't bring the oil out of the ground at a profit because the barrel price was so low, and this is something that's consistent. When the economy is bad, there are pockets in this country that do extremely well. It's the same thing with interest rates. Interest rates go down and when interest rates are very low, boy, the home-buying industry is great. The loan industry is great. People can go out and borrow money with very little interest. But the people who are retired and live off the interest of their investments don't do so well because there's no interest growing them. So it's not ever universal. It's good or bad for everybody in the country, and this situation in Michigan is unfortunate and we feel for you up there.
CALLER: Oh, it's bad. My husband was thinking. He said, "You know what? We might have to move down south," because he just can't believe it. I mean, even his pa said he never saw it this bad.
RUSH: Well, you know something, that's one of the things that this country affords. That is, you can create your own job in this country. That's what Welch is talking about, entrepreneurism, but you can also move. I have found and I've mentioned this over and over again. I'm a keen observer of these kinds of things, as you people well know, and I have concluded that most of the limitations that individuals face economically are actually self-imposed -- and they are, in some cases, decisions that have to be made. Some people will not move. Kids are in school, whatever. Can't sell the house. Won't move. When you limit yourself to working in an area where jobs are scarce, good-paying jobs may not be on the rise for awhile, then you're obviously stuck in that situation. If you are willing to move and if you're willing to go to where the jobs are, if you're willing to go somewhere and create your own job, then, of course, all kinds of opportunity opens up. This is not to be critical. Just observant. There's all kinds of limitations that people place on themselves and I think one of the limitations ends up being that, "Well, you know, I'm an American. I ought to have more than this. I ought to not be getting laid off. This shouldn't be happening." Now, that ends up being a limitation, because you're making yourself out to be a victim when, in fact, everybody is victimized by something every day. We all are victims of the economy in one way or another, countless times in our lives. The point is not that we're victims, but is rather what do we do to deal with the obstacles placed in our way, and you just said it: move south. This is what a whole host of people from your region of the country are doing all the way from New York across Pennsylvania, up to Ohio and into Illinois and Wisconsin and Michigan. They are moving south for a whole host of reasons. Taxes are lower. Incomes are higher. Property is cheaper and so forth. It's an option that you do have.
Maybe after I retire from the Air National Guard... :-) At least the BRAC hasn't gotten me yet, no thanks to our Dem Reps and Senators.
*sigh* Nostalgia time! The refinery was indeed very close to the marshes where we'd park to stare chastely at the NY skyline until the windshield fogged over. The sulfurous stench of the refinery stacks, and whatever was decomposing in the Arthur Kill--- Ahhh, Jersey, Jersey!
There's always the State of the Union, and it's not that far off.
I work part-time in a luxury goods business up here in the Rust Belt and, so far, the Christmas season looks like it's on an uptick over last year.
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