Posted by
Playful Walrus on Thursday, August 28, 2008 6:41:26 PM
It’s typical, especially during campaigns, and even more so during the national convention, for politicians to blame the other party for everything people don’t like about the state of things today, and credit their party for everything that people like.
For example, Democrats credit President Clinton with the dot-com boom of the 90s, even though Republicans gained control of Congress in 1994. They blame President Bush for high oil prices right now, even though the prices went up at a faster rate once Democrats took control of Congress. In reality, oil prices are the result of many factors, some of which have nothing to do with who is the President or who controls Congress, and many of which have been brewing for decades. The dot-com boom (and bust) was going to happen regardless of who was President.
Bush is getting blamed for home foreclosures, even though many are the result of people taking out loans they couldn’t afford, and lenders issuing loans that would only work out if home values continued to skyrocket and the borrower could sell or refinance. But cycles are normal in real estate, and it was inevitable that there would be a slowdown. The question was - when?
Bush gets blamed for the Katrina response, even though disaster preparation and response is a state and local function – the federal government provides financial aid after the fact.
Don’t like your job or lack of one? Having health problems? Didn't save enough for your own retirement? Envious that some people have more money than you? Blame President Bush! It’s all his fault, because after all, he is President. This kind of reasoning is nothing new. It is akin to throwing a virgin in a volcano because you think that will keep it from erupting.
The President can do much to harm the economy, but he can’t do all that much to help it, except working with Congress to lower taxes and reduce government interference. Even then, it is what the people do with their own money and freedoms that make the economy what it is.