Progress Report: Not Necessarily the News

[Guest guest]

> Mon, 02 Aug 2004 08:31:52 -0700

> Progress Report: Not Necessarily the News

> " American Progress Action Fund "

> <progress

>

 

Center for American Progress - Progress Report

 

by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and

Jonathan Baskin

 

 

August 2, 2004

ECONOMY Not Necessarily the News9/11Book Report

UNDER THE RADAR

 

ECONOMY

Not Necessarily the News

 

This is what happens when you don't read the news.

Data released over the last week revealed that

economic growth has slowed dramatically, consumer

spending has plummeted and the federal deficit is

projected to reach an all-time high. President Bush's

take on the economy: " we've turned the corner and

we're not going back. "

 

PRESIDENT IGNORES SLOWING GDP GROWTH: In his radio

address yesterday the president said, " our economy is

gaining strength. " But the president ignored new data

indicating " the nation's economy grew at a slow-paced

3 percent annual rate in the second quarter [down from

4.5 percent in the first quarter], renewing concerns

about weak overall recovery and the potential for

mediocre future job growth. " As American Progress

Analyst Brian Deese writes,#160;we are now forced to

wonder#160; " what happens when consumer spending is no

longer driving our economic train? " #160;#160;#160;

 

PLAYING GAMES WITH THE FEDERAL DEFICIT: In Ohio on

Saturday, the president pledged that his

administration " will not overspend your money. " The

day before, the Office of Management and Budget

estimated " the budget deficit will grow to $445

billion in fiscal year 2004. " The projection is $70

billion more than the 2003 deficit. In 2003, the

administration projected the 2004 deficit to be $307

billion. The administration claims the $445 billion

deficit is positive news because, due to stronger than

expected economic growth, the figure is below its

deficit projections released in February. In fact,

economic growth is " in line with what the

administration projected when it released its earlier

deficit projection. " What accounts for the lower

estimate? According to the Center for Budget and

Policy Priorities, " the administration's February

forecast artificially inflated the projected deficit

for 2004, apparently so that subsequent downward

adjustments in the deficit estimate could be presented

as progress. "

 

BUSH'S ESTIMATES EXCLUDE COSTS OF HIS OWN POLICIES:

Bush insisted yesterday that " we remain on pace to

reduce the deficit by half in the next five years. "

But the administration's 2009 budget projections are

not credible because they omit " the cost of a number

of the administration's own policies. " For example,

revising the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) #8211; a

proposal favored by the administration and bipartisan

majorities in Congress to prevent a massive tax hike

on the middle class #8211; is projected to cost $57

billion in 2009. The president also fails to include

the cost of the multi-year defense blueprint and the

cost of the continued fight against terrorism. Even

assuming that expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan

decrease in future years #8211; which is far from

certain #8211; the administration excludes at least

$70 billion in defense costs for 2009.

 

BUSH DISTORTS JOB CREATING RECORD: Bush also bragged

that many of the jobs created over the past year have

been " in high-growth, high-paying industries. " But

according to USA Today, " Jobs in lower-wage industries

and regions are growing at a faster pace than

higher-wage jobs. " As a result, the job growth that

has occurred " is less potent for the economy because

the majority of new work isn't accompanied by fat

paychecks. "

 

RECORD NUMBERS LAID OFF, REHIRED AT LOWER WAGES:

According to a newly released government report,

" layoffs occurred at the second-fastest rate on record

during the first three years of the Bush

administration. " During Bush's presidency, " the layoff

rate reached 8.7 percent of all adult jobholders, or

11.4 million men and women age 20 or older. " More

disturbingly, " 56.9 percent of those who said they

were re-employed also said they were earning less in

their new jobs than in the jobs they had lost. "

 

9/11

Book Report

 

The final report of the 9/11 commission #8211; which

criticizes both the Bush and Clinton administrations

#8211; has already become the subject of a much-needed

national debate. The Commission held nineteen days of

public hearings, reviewed 2.5 million pages of

documents, interviewed 1,200 individuals in ten

countries and took public testimony from 160

witnesses. Nearly three years after the attack, the

White House is expected to act on some of the

commission's recommendations soon. But the report

makes clear the Bush administration did not pay

adequate attention to terrorism in the months before

the attacks, and after and the White House

deliberately and disingenuously used the attack to

manipulate public support for invading Iraq. (To

facilitate ease of reading, the Center for American

Progress has bookmarked key segments within the

original on-line PDF version of the report.)

 

RICE NOT FOCUSED ON TERRORISM: Although

counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke sounded

multiple alarms, sending Condoleezza Rice a memo

saying " we urgently need#8230;a Principals level

review on the al Qaeda network, " no meeting on al

Qaeda was held until September 4, 2001. (The Bush

administration held 32 Principals Committee meetings

on subjects other than al Qaeda before 9/11, including

at least one on Iraq.) Instead, Rice downgraded the

Counterterrorism Security Group so that it no longer

reported to the principal members of the National

Security Council. And the White House postponed aid to

the Northern Alliance and Uzbeks, disregarding a

December 2000 " Blue Sky " memo on terrorism urging that

aid was crucial in the fight against al Qaeda and the

Taliban.

 

ASHCROFT IGNORED WARNINGS: John Dean, former White

House Counsel to Richard Nixon, makes the case that

while the commissioners strove to avoid pointing

fingers, " reading between the lines, it's hard to come

away thinking well of the Bush Administration. In

fact, a close reading of the report shows that it is

laced with countless - and often, harsh and

unforgiving -- criticisms of Bush, Cheney and others

(particularly Attorney General John Ashcroft). " The

report cites former FBI assistant director for

counterterrorism, Dale Watson, as saying that Attorney

General John Ashcroft was " not supportive " of building

up capacities to combat terrorism. At the same time,

former Acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard says that

Ashcroft told him " he did not want to hear about the

threats anymore. " And when the FBI came to the

attorney general, asking for more money for

counterterrorism efforts, on September 10, 2001, John

Ashcroft denied the request.

 

NO LINK BETWEEN 9/11 ATTACK AND IRAQ: According to the

report, it seems al Qaeda had ties to nearly every

country but Iraq. Although the White House repeatedly

used the 9/11 attack as a premise for invading Iraq,

the report found no " collaborative operational

relationship. " They did find collaborative ties to

" Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and

Somalia. " Also, Saudi Arabia provided a " fertile

fundraising ground " for Osama bin Laden and his

network. Iran was integral in facilitating travel for

al Qaeda members. And after his ejection from Sudan,

Osama was able to make his way to Afghanistan courtesy

of Pakistan.

 

OBSESSION WITH IRAQ:#160; According to the report,

Secretary of State Colin Powell recalls Deputy Defense

Secretary Paul Wolfowitz " was always of the view that

Iraq was a problem that had to be dealt with... and he

saw this as one way of using this event as a way to

deal with the Iraq problem. " And President Bush in the

week after the attack told both National Security

Advisor Condoleezza Rice and the Defense Department to

be ready to deal with Iraq, with " plans to include

possibly occupying Iraqi oil fields. " The White House

used these unproven assertions as momentum to set the

stage for the invasion of Iraq. The evening of

September 11, Secretary Rumsfeld urged the president

to think about the possibility that Iraq may have

harbored the attackers. The next day, Secretary

Rumsfeld said " his instinct was to hit Saddam Hussein

at the same time. " #160;

 

WHY DOES FEITH STILL HAVE HIS JOB?: A footnote in

Chapter 10 of the report underscores the White House

line of thinking on 9/11 and Iraq. On September 20,

2001, Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith sent a

memo to Secretary Rumsfeld. According to the

commission, " the author suggested instead hitting

terrorists outside the Middle East in the initial

offensive, perhaps deliberately selecting a non-al

Qaeda target like Iraq " to " surprise " the terrorists.

As David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post, " If

Feith really wrote such a memo, how is it possible

that he is still in his job? " In his new book, Gen.

Tommy Franks says, " Feith had achieved the reputation

in some military circles as 'the dumbest . . . guy on

the planet.' "

 

WHY DOES WOLFOWITZ STILL HAVE HIS JOB?: In his

September 17, 2001 memo, Wolfowitz pushed to use 9/11

as an excuse to go after Iraq, claiming the odds were

" far more " than one in ten that Saddam was involved in

the 9/11 attacks. Confronted with the report this

week, " a Wolfowitz aide said the memo 'did not talk

about theories, but facts.' " Not so fast. In the memo,

to bolster his claims, he theorized that Iraq was

behind the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

However, in a footnote in Chapter 10, the commission

reports, " We have found no credible evidence to

support theories of Iraqi government involvement in

the 1993 WTC bombing. "

 

 

 

 

 

RACE #8211; PROFILING ON THE '04 CAMPAIGN: The Arizona

Daily Star reports, " President Bush's re-election

campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona

Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice

President Dick Cheney. " Though the newspaper refused

to provide the information, the Star's editor, Teri

Hayt, said it was the first time in his 26-year career

that a journalist's race was made an issue. The editor

demanded to know whether the photographer, Mamta

Popat, was singled out because of her name. The

Bush-Cheney campaign referred the question to the U.S.

Secret Service. " One has to wonder what they were

going to do with that information, " Hayt said.

" Because she has Indian ancestry, were they going to

deny her access? I don't know. " The story follows last

week's revelations that the Bush campaign is also

demanding signed pledges of allegiance to the

Republican Party from people who want to attend a

public speech by Vice President Cheney.

 

ENERGY #8211; RECESS APPOINTING CHEVRON/TEXACO:

Bloomberg reports President Bush will use his recess

appointment power to circumvent congressional

opposition and place a former ChevronTexaco

representative on the powerful Federal Trade

Commission. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Barbara Boxer

(D-CA) had put a hold on the appointment because of

their concerns that nominee Deborah Majoras (who

previously represented ChevronTexaco) would not

aggressively prevent more of the oil industry

consolidation that may be contributing to record-high

gas prices. ChevronTexaco executives have given the

Bush-Cheney campaign more than $23,000, and the RNC

more than $1.2 million in soft money. Since he took

office, Bush has " allowed an increase in oil refinery

mergers to go unchecked " and rampant consolidation

" may have contributed to the highest gasoline prices

in 20 years. " The Bush administration has approved 33

oil refinery takeovers worth $19.5 billion and hasn't

tried to block any.

 

HEALTH CARE #8211; BUDGET WOES HIT KIDS: The Christian

Science Monitor reports, " After years of little

impact, budget woes are now taking a toll on kids'

healthcare. " Specifically, the State Children's Health

Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, which provides

coverage for children of working parents with lower

incomes, has seen the first decrease in enrollment

since it was enacted in 1997. A new study by the

Kaiser Family Foundation found serious decreases in

enrollment in Texas, New York, and Maryland. While

some of the children were moved to Medicaid, others

" were simply dropped off the rolls " under new

eligibility formulas designed to save money.

 

INTIMIGATE #8211; POWELL INTERVIEWED: AP reports, " the

U.S. grand jury investigating the leak of an

undercover CIA operative's name has interviewed

Secretary of State Colin Powell. " State Department

spokesman Richard Boucher said Powell appeared on July

16 at the grand jury's invitation, adding that he is

" not a subject of inquiry. " The interview with Powell

means at least five members of the Bush administration

have been summoned in connection to the leak,

including President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

The investigation is to determine who leaked the name

of Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak

last July. Disclosure of an undercover officer's

identity can be a federal crime.

 

CIVIL LIBERTIES #8211; A CYNICAL PLOY: HYPOCRISY 101:

As the president foot-drags on the 9/11 Commission

report, the administration's latest tactic to slow

down the implementation of reforms is to claim they

will weaken civil liberties. The move is a bit ironic

" in light of the rollback in civil liberties [the

White House] pushed in the USA Patriot Act. " Said ACLU

executive director Anthony Romero, " The administration

has shown a great disregard for civil liberties in the

wake of 9/11, and it's a cynical ploy to trot out

arguments on civil liberties when they don't like the

findings of the 9/11 report. " #160;

 

WAR ON TERROR #8211; MEDIA VOTER ID'S AL QAEDA?: An

article in last week's New Yorker dealing with the

Madrid bombings directly contradicts recent

unsubstantiated statements by Bush administration

officials and media pundits that terrorists are

rooting for John Kerry to win the White House in 2004.

The New Yorker reports a terrorist group claiming

affiliation with al Qaeda, the Abu Hafs al-Masri

Brigades, has publicly stated its desire for President

Bush to remain in office. In a message sent to a

London newspaper just days after the Madrid bombings,

the authors write, " We are very keen that Bush does

not lose the upcoming elections. " Bush's " idiocy and

religious fanaticism " are useful, the authors contend,

" for they stir the Islamic world to action. " The

question is not whether this letter is valid or not

#8211; it simply highlights the fact that it is

impossible to ascribe voter preferences to a terrorist

group. Yet, that is exactly what is happening, without

any proof whatsoever. Last month, Fox News pundit Dick

Morris called it an " obvious fact " that " Osama and his

allies all want Bush out. " Likewise, on May 27, CNN's

Kelli Arena reported, with no evidence, " There is some

speculation that Al Qaeda believes it has a better

chance of winning in Iraq if John Kerry is in the

White House. "

 

#160;Don't Miss

DON'T MISS

 

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Economy Stalled

 

COLUMN: Has the Consumer Train Reached the Station?

 

PATRIOT ACT: #160;Peter Moskos on balancing security

and liberty.

 

MILITARY: #160;Military spokesman Josh Rushing is

silenced after speaking out in " Control Room. "

 

MEDIA: Kuwaiti government bans Fahrenheit 9/11 because

they say it is " insulting to the Saudi Arabian royal

family. "

 

Contact The Progress Report.

 

 

 

 

#160;Daily Grill

 

" I've asked the attorney general and the deputy

attorney general to examine racial profiling. It's

wrong in America and we've got to get rid of it. "

 

- President Bush, 7/30/01

 

VERSUS

 

" President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on

knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist

assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney. "

 

- Arizona Daily Star, 7/31/04

 

#160;Daily Outrage

At the same time President Bush is pushing $1 trillion

in new tax cuts, budget woes are forcing states to

remove children from low-income health care

assistance.

 

#160;Archives

Progress Report

 

#160;Opportunity

The Center for American Progress is now accepting

intern applications for the fall semester.