It's the Economy Stupid

This was the Clinton mantra back in 1992. I think it should be changed a little for the McCain campaign to they're stupid on the economy.

I'm sure you've heard about this. In what has to be one of the more bone headed statements one of the major "advisers" to McCain on the economy, former Senator Phil Gramm, was interviewed by the Washington Times. Here's how the coverage ran in the Post:

In an interview with the Washington Times, Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who is now vice chairman of UBS, the giant Swiss bank, said he expects Mr. McCain to inherit a sluggish economy if he wins the presidency, weighed down above all by the conviction of many Americans that economic conditions are the worst in two or three decades and that America is in decline.

“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline” despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

“We’ve never been more dominant; we’ve never had more natural advantages than we have today,” he said. “We have benefited greatly” from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.

Mr. Gramm said the constant drubbing of the media on the economy’s problems is one reason people have lost confidence. Various surveys show that consumer confidence has fallen precipitously this year to the lowest levels in two to three decades, with most analysts attributing that to record high gasoline prices over $4 a gallon and big drops in the value of homes, which are consumers’ biggest assets.

“Misery sells newspapers,” Mr. Gramm said. “Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.”

Later on Gramm tried to clarify his statement saying he meant the whiners were politicians. One small problem with that is he didn't say that. He didn't say anything close to that. And if you read his statement there is absolutely no way that you could interperate his remarks to mean he was talking about politicians. But then again I'm sure Senator Gramm will never be effected in an economic downturn being a Vice Chair of UBS.

I'm also sure all those people that once had good paying manufacturing jobs and are now working at WalMart, KMart or Target think that globalization has done them a real good service. I'd like the Senator to take his hot air and address say auto workers in Detroit or maybe textile workers in North or South Carolina and see how much they are whining. I have a feeling the Senator would barely get out of the meeting alive.

Are we technically in a recession? Probably not. Is the economy as bad as say around the time of Carter/Reagan? Probably not. Remember the misery index? That was the unemployment rate added to the rate of inflation. When Carter left office the misery index was around 16. With George Bush it is around 8. So about half of what it was. However, to say things could be worse, is no sort of an answer. Gas is $4.00 a gallon and going up. Food costs more. The value of people's houses are going down. The stocks they own are doing the same.

Yeah, Senator Gramm we are just a big nations of whiners. I think what's more likely is Senator is you as well as your party are completely out of touch with the average American and what they are going through.