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Vacation???
Congress is currently in recess. You remember recess, something that kindergartners have every morning and afternoon. Congress is currently on a five-week rest period, which started at the beginning of the month and will not end until after the Labor Day holiday. There are, of course, many things to do, many things that Congress needs to tend to, but never mind that, they deserve a rest—doesn’t everybody deserve 5 weeks of vacation during the summer? I have long asked, ‘Why don’t they just stay there until they get the job done?’
Of course, there are some who say, ‘Let them go on vacation, or recess, whatever they call it—the more time they’re out of Washington, the less likely they are to cause trouble by making new rules and regulations based on their divine interpretation of the way the world should be.’ I never really found that a satisfactory answer, because taken to its fullest extent we would just shut Congress down. Now, you don’t want that, do you??
In the meantime, the liberal press, rather than complain about Congress’ recess, has decided to go after George W. My initial reaction is that Mr. Bush must be doing a pretty good job, if that’s all they can find to complain about. What the press conveniently skims over but ought to be clear to any thinking American is, the President can go to Crawford, Texas, and due to the electronic wonders of the present-day world, be just as connected with everything and everybody around the world. The change in geography does little to make the President less effective, and the President, of course, would contend that the change in geography gives him a chance to clear his brains from all the sewage that is trafficked in Washington D.C.
There is a big difference between the President in Crawford, Texas, and Congress scattered to the four winds of the 50 states. As just noted, due to today’s electronics, the President is just about as equally connected in Crawford, Texas as he is in Washington D.C. But Congress, because by definition it is a group, needs to be together. Congress cannot function properly in any way, shape or form, spread out over the 50 states. Everything in Congress is about committee hearings, and then maneuvering and votes in Congress—that simply cannot be done unless Congress is in Washington. That ought to be obvious to anyone who cares to see, that is, except the liberal press.
So, the bottom line on all of this is clear. The President can be virtually anywhere and work effectively. Congress, however, needs to be in Washington D.C. to work effectively because that is where the "group meetings" are held. So let’s tell it like it is; the president is on a working vacation in Crawford, Texas and Congress is on RECESS for 5 weeks. It’s just that simple. But again, Mr. Bush must be doing something right, if that’s all the media can complain about.
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In the meantime, how’s the economy doing? My guess is, better than most people suspect. Just in the last week or so, industrial production for July was reported, and it showed it’s smallest decline in 10 months, and was all but even. Consumer prices for July, showed a decline of 0.3%, that is the biggest decline in 15 years, and the first since April of last year. Inflation remains near death in our country, and that is very important. Elsewhere, housing starts for July jumped 2.8%, and to their highest level since February of last year, while jobless claims for unemployment fell for the fourth time in the past five weeks. Additionally, the nation’s leading Economic Indicator Index has now risen for four months in a row.
Put this all together, combine it with Fed easing, $38.8 billion in tax refunds, $50 to $60 billion worth of home refinancing, and what do you have? An economy that has slowed significantly after running a bit too fast, but never went into recession. What we are left with now as we turn the corner and head back higher, is still very moderate inflation, interest rates near 30-year lows, unemployment near 30-year lows, while the dollar continues to dazzle people with its strength. If you had been out of the country for a couple of years and away from the eastern-dominated media, you would again feel that we were in the midst of an economic boom. Well, no it’s not a boom now, but a rest period. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the boom resumes over the next couple of years.
(Tom Butenhoff is a First Vice President with J. E. Liss and Company, Inc.
in Milwaukee. The views are his, and not necessarily those of Liss
Financial Services or the Job Connection/Hiring
Network.)