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Monday, December 12, 2005

It’s a very good sign

Economy Lifts Bush’s Support in Latest Poll

After months of political erosion, President Bush’s approval rating improved markedly in the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, largely tracking Americans’ more positive attitudes toward the economy. . . .

The survey, conducted Dec. 2-6, showed Mr. Bush’s approval rating at 40 percent, up from 35 percent a month ago, which was the low point of his presidency.

Why are Americans more positive about the economy, you ask?  Is it because they’re making more money or something?

Sadly . . . No!

Actually, they’re making less:

As a measure of how much the economy produced per hour of work, business productivity rose 4.7 percent outside the farming sector from July to September, compared with an earlier reading of 4.1 percent, the Labor Department reported. Real hourly compensation, which adjusts wages and other benefits for inflation, fell 1.4 percent, unchanged from previous estimates.

So you’re saying Americans boosted George Bush’s poll numbers up five points because their wages fell 1.4 percent?

Well, sadly, yeah:

“Things are not that bad,” Susan Huru, a 47-year-old independent from Wasilla, Alaska, said in a follow-up interview after the poll was completed. “I can still afford things except for maybe gas.”

No, we didn’t make up that quote.  We only made up this one:

“Bush is all right by me,” said Joe Hill, a mechanic from Salt Lake City, Utah.  “I can still afford things except for maybe health care.  And it’s OK with me if productivity is up and my wages are down—that way, I figure, the money’s going to the people who really know how to use it.  It’s a little like that Nick Lowe song.”

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What, you were thinking maybe “American Squirm”?

Posted by Sadly, No! on 12/12 at 07:10 AM
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