Up, Up, Up, it goes....

[Achtung Bubba]

Contrary to the beliefs of others, the U.S. stock market has not been on a steady decline since "Bush and his big business F.O.B's (that's Friends of Bush) took over."

If you look at the actual Dow Jones Industrial Average for the past five years, you can draw only two possible conclusions:

1) That there's been a steady decline from March, 2002.

2) That there's been a steady decline from January 2000, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were in office - and had been in office for seven years.

But let's say that the contrary opinion is right in saying, "The stock market reflects the overall attitude of individual investors towards the health of the economy."

What do we make of today's news?


Wall St. bulls take charge

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Dow Jones industrial average saw its second-biggest one-day point gain ever as stocks snapped back from weeks of sharp selling on reassurance from J.P. Morgan Chase about its Enron ties, the arrest of some of the key offenders in the Adelphia scandal, and continued good cheer about 3M's quarterly results.


We're not in a boom yet, by any stretch of the imagination. But I say it's quite possible that Bush-bashers have been exhibiting irrational pessimism, all for the sake of proving that President Bush is terrible at his job.

[diamond]

As I said in the other thread..whos FAULT is it ?
DB9

[Like someone to blame]

Originally posted by Achtung Bubba
Contrary to the beliefs of others, the U.S. stock market has not been on a steady decline since "Bush and his big business F.O.B's (that's Friends of Bush) took over."

But let's say that the contrary opinion is right in saying, "The stock market reflects the overall attitude of individual investors towards the health of the economy."

What do we make of today's news?

Quite a stretch, indeed. Today's rally was inevitable. Today simply represented smart money management-buying good, solid companies CHEAP! Did you buy today...I did! Furthermore, the decline of the DOW since Bush took office is now the largest percentage decline of the that average over the first 18 months of ANY presidential administration since such records, dating back to 1925, have been kept. The author fails to mention this in his "rosy scenario" painted above. So, really, only 1 conclusion can be drawn from this: That the DOW has steadily declined since Bush took office.

Therefore, to suggest that today's bargain hunting rally reflects the attitude of investors towards the health of the economy is quite frankly naive, premature, and totally inacurrate.

[z edge]

Anyway,

Yes boys you beat me to it.



Good job Bubba and DB9

[melon]

To comment on the stock market, I believe it has been artifically inflated all during the Clinton era. The "prosperity" we supposedly had during the 1990s was a sham, just as it was a sham in the 1980s. The "prosperity" during both decades was highly disproportionate, leaning towards the upper 1%. "Prosperity" has always been a distortion of the media (call it the "liberal" media, if you so desire), and, while I cannot deny that many people did get wealthy over the last two decades, there were far more who regressed in inflation-adjusted wealth since before the 1980s, thanks to slashed wages, encouraged by the 1986 tax plan that eliminated the Windfall Profits Tax (a tax levied only on businesses that had excessive profits; encouraged capital investment and labor wages). The Dow Jones Industrial Average is only a reflection on corporate wealth, not personal wealth. Personal prosperity is all I care about.

Our current stock jump off 400+ points today will plummet in the next day or so, as people are looking for quick profits, and they'll sell these now higher stocks tomorrow. Buy low, sell high, yes?

Melon

[Achtung Bubba]

Originally posted by Like someone to blame
So, really, only 1 conclusion can be drawn from this: That the DOW has steadily declined since Bush took office.

It has steadily declined since Bush took office - AND the year prior. Your statement, will accurate, is not the complete truth and IS terribly misleading: the Dow has declined since the last year of Clinton.

Therefore, to suggest that today's bargain hunting rally reflects the attitude of investors towards the health of the economy is quite frankly naive, premature, and totally inacurrate.

As is YOUR suggestion that the problem lies solely - or even primarily - with George W. Bush.

Though, to be honest, Bush and Congress HAVEN'T done everything right, either:

- The Congressional budget is up nearly 20% in just two years.

- This so-called corporate reform - which will probably bring MORE frivolous lawsuits (good for trial lawyers, bad for business) - has investors worried.

- Finally, the Bush tax cut, which so many liberals want to blame our condition on, has been barely enacted (wonder how it's causing the problems, then). There won't be serious tax cuts until 2005. If conservatives are right, and I believe we are, these tax cuts will HELP the economy. The sooner, the more, the better.