THE BRAIN ECONOMY: Bush's economic vision

New York Post ^ | October 18, 2004 | NICOLE GELINAS

[OESY]

...But where bin Laden saw America's information economy as shallow and vulnerable, President Bush sees it as deep and resilient.

Bush sees American minds as the country's source of economic strength. His policies — outlined during Wednesday's debate — are designed to tap that strength. John Kerry's competing proposals, and his rejoinders to Bush on Wednesday, show that the senator views American workers as congenital victims — and his policies are thus designed to compensate Americans for perceived injustices.

When moderator Bob Schieffer asked Bush what he would do to stanch offshore outsourcing of "American" jobs, Bush told him: "The best way to keep jobs here in America and to keep this economy growing is to make sure our education system works. . . . Education is how to make sure we've got a work force that's productive and competitive."

The president tied his economic policy to his education policy — because the two are necessarily entwined....

But Kerry saw Bush's answer as a duck: "I want you to notice how the president switched away from jobs and started talking about education." The senator views education and jobs proposals as separate policies designed to treat people who are in separate stages of their lifelong victimhood....

In Kerry's world, women who are trying to raise children on the minimum wage need a $1.85-an-hour raise. Kerry would apply a cosmetic fix — a higher minimum wage — to a grave problem: Millions of adults have emerged from American schools without 21st-century skills....

Bush's economic philosophy is simple and practical: Invest in young Americans, and encourage the economy to invest in young American ideas. Bush wants to use the federal government to unleash economic and innovative potential — where Kerry wants to use it to pay off economic victims.

[OESY]

Nicole Gelinas has consistently shown herself to be an insightful columnist for the New York Post.

[KantianBurke]

"Bush's economic philosophy is simple and practical"

Yeah, champion outsourcing while turning a blind eye to illegals driving down wages.