Bush's Economic Smokescreen

Under Republican control, economic growth has been lopsided at best. CEO salaries are soaring and profits are up, but most Americans aren't seeing the benefits.

When President Bush talks about how strong the economy is, most Americans think he's out to lunch.

President Bush and the Republican Congress, catering to corporate lobbies, have acted consistently to make things worse for ordinary Americans.

• They've accelerated the flight of jobs abroad through "outsourcing"-friendly trade and tax policies
• They've put downward pressure on wages by blocking a minimum wage increase for nine years and coddling employers who trample labor laws.
• They let big drug companies gouge seniors by prohibiting Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices.
• They lavished billions in subsidies on big oil, blocked efforts to prosecute gas-price gouging, and starved progress on alternative energy.
• They incentivized companies to abandon pensions and replace them with individual retirement accounts.
• They cut billions from the student loan program, even as they fixed interest rates at higher levels.

By exposing and challenging the Republicans' pay-to-play politics, Democrats can show voters they are paying the cost of conservative corruption and that it's time to clean out the stables.

The corporate unraveling of the employee safety net—healthcare benefits, stable jobs, pensions—has been callously celebrated as the dawn of an "ownership society," as in, "I've got mine, you're on your own." Democrats have not yet roused voters with a new vision of a more just, more prosperous society. Still, there is a clear choice between the two parties.

Despite its timidity, the Democrats' "New Directions" program offers a clear contrast to Republican follies. It pledges to:

• Require Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

• Raise the minimum wage.

• Repeal tax incentives for moving jobs abroad.

• Cut college loan rates in half.

• Launch a drive for energy independence.