Nothing displeases a leftist more than to acknowledge a reality contrary to their long held beliefs. As any reader of the Phalanx is no doubt aware, the US economy has excelled, growth far exceeds the rest of the industrialized world, unemployment is low and inflation remains in check. Nonetheless, the left has repeatedly ignored these obvious signs of a prosperous economy in their effort to denigrate Bush and gain political power. In so doing, they hope to create an alternative reality. As any economist worth his weight in T-Bills can attest, success in an economic system is as much dependent upon tangible economic progress as it is dependent upon perception. Perception equals reality and if there is a perception that the economy is faltering, people will stop spending, businesses who loose money and lay off workers and before you know it the economy truly is faltering, thus the left can create a scenario by which they can champion themselves as saviors.

Unfortunately, for the left, this strategy has failed to yield the desired result. The New York Times, the mouthpiece for the left as much as Pravda was the mouthpiece of the Soviet Union, has published an article begrudgingly accepting the inescapable reality of the American economy’s success. “By most measures,” the New York Times reports, “the economy appears to be doing fine. No, scratch that, it appears to be booming.” The NYT went on to acknowledge economic growth exceeding 4% for the last quarter, which is more than quadruple the economic outlook one would find in leftist poster child France (or even Germany or Japan), where double digit unemployment and zero economic growth have become facts of life.

At some point during the article, the NYT reporter apparently came to his leftists senses, reporting that this economic growth isn’t expected to continue. The Times argues an invariable economic downturn is on the horizon for next year. Much of this prediction is based on the perception that the housing market will decline with rising interests rates, causing a ripple effect throughout the economy. In reality the economy is and always has been cyclical by nature. It is the government’s duty, therefore to create and foster an environment, which softens economic downturns and accelerates economic advances. This is achieved by reducing tax burdens and providing incentives for businesses to expand (such as reducing interest rates), allowing further job creation. Will there be an economic downturn at some point in the future? Most certainly. No economy expands nonstop forever. There will inevitably be a contraction at some point. Will that be next year? Highly unlikely, so the Democrats will just have to keep trying to shatter perceptions.
Link to New York Times article