Remind Me Again How Bad The Economy Is

Some very good economic news is coming out today, but I wonder how much play it'll get in the mainstream news outlets. Remember, the economy is supposed to be tanking under President Bush. The Libs would have you believe the only people doing well are Bush's cronies. Let's see what's going on...

Americans Earning More Money
October earnings, as announced by the Commerce Department, showed a 0.6 percent gain. That's a tremendous gain over September's 0.2 percent, and it's the largest increase in six months. That was also one-tenth of a point higher than economists had anticipated.

We're Spending More, Too
More income for consumers means more spending, and during October consumer spending went up a whopping 0.7 percent. That was three-tenths of a point higher than economists had predicted. When tied to inflation, the growth was a healthy 0.3 percent.

Manufacturing On The Rise
The Institute for Supply Management reports that, for November, manufacturing activity grew sharply. Activity is measured on an index scale, and a reading of 50 or higher on that scale indicates expansion. The November score was 57.8, which is up from 56.8 last November. A score of 57 was expected, indicating greater manufacturing growth than anticipated. This was the 18th consecutive month of manufacturing growth.

Stocks Rising
With very strong economic numbers and lowering crude oil prices, stocks have taken off. As of 3:00pm ET today, the Dow is sitting at 10,565 (up 136), the NASDAQ is at 2,131 (up 35), and the S&P shows 1,188 (up 15). Meanwhile, the price of crude oil on the New York marketver $3 a barrel.

Employment Up
For October, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 337,000 people. Unemployment remains relatively low at 5.5 percent. Construction employment rose sharply over the month, and several service-providing industries also added jobs.

Somebody please remind me why the Democrats said the economy was so bad...