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The Economy's What?
By Thomas D. Segel
August 24, 2004

Even before Ronald Reagan asked America if it was better off than it had been four years earlier, the economy was a high point of political debate. However, that debate is starting to sour many taste buds after listening to today¹s trash talking political commentary.

Pick an economic point of departure and Kerry's Bad News Bears will have something negative to bring to your attention. Though the unemployment rate is as good or better than it was during the previous administration, they would have you believe that all of America is standing in soup lines. If you are among the elderly, everything in your world is on the brink of disaster. If you are young and starting out, the future is bleak. From their vantage point it is all bad news all the time.

It appears the Kerry camp is not even taking the time to listen to its own mainstream liberal media.

For example, ABC News carried a feature story several weeks ago that stated, "Americans' ratings of their own finances reached a six-month high." The ABC News/Money Magazine Poll claimed consumer confidence remained steady at its highest since February 8th. The same poll says President Bush is winning support from 75% of registered voters who say the economy is in good shape. Again on the "bad news" side, Kerry is supported by 71% of those who view the economy in a negative light. In the area of personal finances 59% of Americans rate their own financial situation as excellent or good.

When we examine how the elderly feel about their quality of life the best place to look is the AARP. That organization of senior citizens ages 50 and over says Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 have found their positions improved in every economic measure over the past decade. Older Americans past the age of 65 found their economic positions improved in most measures, except that their share of income from sources other than Social Security has declined. Self reported health status has also decreased.

The number of older Americans covered by pension plans has increased 10%. Median family income rose nearly 12%. The number of senior citizens living at least 200% above the poverty line rose to 71.7%. In all fairness it should also be noted that 38% of those over the age of 65 do not reach that financial level.

An increase of 2 points was seen in the percentage of senior citizens who reported their health as excellent or very good. That figure now stands at 47%. However, when you again look only at those over 65, there is a big difference. Almost 62% of that group rate their health condition as less than excellent.

Less than three weeks ago the ABC News/Washington Post Poll reported 58% of Americans say they are at the same level or better off financially than they were in 2001. The CBS/New York Times Poll of June 27th says 72% of Americans are the same or better off than they were before the Bush presidency.

The CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll of June 23 asked the question "Would you say you and your family are better off now than you were four years ago, or are you worse off now?" Answering that, 49% of Americans claimed their positions were better and 14% claimed their positions were the same.

This is but a thumbnail sketch of how the public views our economy and related economic concerns. In general the quality of a person¹s financial situation was more closely related to overall life quality than any other factor, except marriage. As for health related issues, which are the topic of so many political rantings they rank much lower in public concern than might be anticipated. Health came in at #4 on the concerns list.

When reports such as these are grouped together it should be clear to all that the economic condition of our country is far from being the gloom and doom being reported at so many political gatherings. It might be a good idea for everyone to start reporting the good news about America.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.