Sitting in the classroom, Thinking it's a drag, Listening to the teacher rap, Just ain't my bag

Bush sez: What the heck do I know about the economy?

Here it is:

In case your video tain't workin', here's the exchange:

QUESTION: Do you think there’s a risk of a recession? How do you rate that?
BUSH: You know, you need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101. I got an A, however, in keeping taxes low and being fiscally responsible with the people’s money.

Alrighty then. So here's talking to some respected economists:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the odds of a recession remain ’somewhat more’ than one in three even after this week’s cut in interest rates, with home prices likely to drop further and hurt consumer spending.

Yale University economist Robert Shiller, an economist who has long predicted this decade’s housing market bubble would deflate said the residential real estate downturn could spiral into ‘the most severe since the Great Depression’ and could lead to a recession.”

CBO Director Peter Orszag notes that “the housing issues and problems in the subprime mortgage markets have created a yellow level of concern. ‘The risk of a recession is clearly elevated,’ he says.”

Speaking of fiscal responsibility, economists who did manage to pull in 'A' in Econ 101 blame Bush's tax cuts as a prime contributor to the enormous budget deficits. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you cut taxes (mainly to the rich, of course), but keep spending billions upon billions in a money pit mistake called Iraq, as well as promoting corporate welfare and welcoming in millions of cheap uneducated illegal labor which, due to their mainly poor status, will over their lifetime take more from the system than they put into it, well... doesn't take a math genius to see how a deficit will grow and grow.

And sorry Georgie. But all the programs that you want to see cut to make up for your war spending, like healthcare, education, infrastructure, programs for the poor, etc, can only be sliced so much.

Thus, the result of Bush's low grade economics education:

· 2003: -$378 billion (2nd largest deficit in U.S.history)
· 2004: -$413 billion (largest deficit in U.S. history)
· 2005: -$318 billion (3rd largest deficit in U.S.history)

We're talking 6 years of Republican pork. They ruled the roost. Fiscal conservatism my heinie. The truth is, Republicans like to call Democrats "tax and spenders", but what the Republicans do is cut taxes and still spend like drunken sailors on all their pet projects and corporate cronies and then feign shock at the huge credit card bill that comes in the mail at the end of the month. But, hey, no problem. The next administration can deal with it.

With the corrupt mismanagement of this country's coffers, the only reason the house of cards hasn't collapsed from it all is the Chinese money that holds it together. Smoke and mirrors and duct tape.

Bush puts forth as proof of the economy being strong the fact that stockholders are happy and corporations are making huge profits. He just doesn't see beyond the doors of the country club and how the rich getting richer doesn't really "trickle down" into the pockets of the middle class and poor. Not when the trend seems to lean towards driving down wages and benefits with a cheap illegal workforce and outsourced jobs. Oh yeah, sure, that means a rosy outlook for those at the top, but for the rest of Americans.. hoo boy!

Oh, and by the way. A look at Bush's college transcripts shows he got grades of 71 and 72 in Economics which, on most grade scales, would put him around a C-. Which certainly would help explain his current 'grasp' of our economy.

One class there's no doubt he would get an 'A' in - heck, he could teach it - is Advanced Pathological Lying.

Perhaps he could still benefit from a night school class in Remedial Economics. But only if the teacher... talks... real.... slow.