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Monday, March 18, 2024
The Observer

Recovery isn't growth

"The economic growth in 2003 and 2004 has proven Bush's critics dead wrong."What an incredibly optimistic outlook going into this year's election process. I can only assume that Mike Koprowski, in his April 6 letter, is quietly trying to drum up support for the President whose approval rating has hit an all-time low in a poll published Tuesday.It is truly a blessing that 308,000 new jobs were created in the month of March; however, Koprowski continues to point out that since August, 750,000 new jobs were created. That means that, from August to February, only 442,000 new jobs were created. That averages a little over 60,000 jobs a month - not exactly impressive during our time of "economic growth."While I'm at it, I don't think "economic growth" is an appropriate enough term for our latest advancements. Koprowski is proud of the fact that the Dow is approaching "pre-recession levels." To me, this is not a sign of economic growth, this is a sign of economic recovery. Growth, as far as the Bush administration is concerned, should be reaching economic levels above and beyond what they were when he took office. Should we applaud a president who digs himself out of his own recession?With tax refunds supposedly about to reach record highs, it is no big surprise that consumer spending would increase. The anticipation of those refunds spurs anyone to go on a little spree. However, the $1,000 child credit Koprowski mentioned was distributed in the summer of 2003 as an advance. Taxpayers are quickly seeing a dramatic decrease in refunds and even find themselves owing money because they fail to report those credits as income."Economic growth" is a mere illusion. With an uncertain future in the Middle East (the Israel/Palestine conflict as well as the mess in Iraq) and the economic roller coaster that occurs during any election year, I can hardly call Bush's work "impressive."

Jason Wilkersonclass of 2003April 6