September 5, 2002
The Myth that Republicans are "Good For Business"
According to a New York Times report on Yahoo! "The five-month decline through August was the first for the Dow since 1981 and the first for the Nasdaq since 1984." To find this grim of economic news on Wall Street, you have to go back to... The Reagan Era! How exciting! How nice for Dubya, who always fashioned himself after Ronnie.The yield on bonds goes even further back into history to find an equal: "Except for a brief intraday trading dip below 4 percent in mid-August, the yield has not been this low since the early 1960's."
I am always amazed by people I know who voted for Bush because they subscribe to the kneejerk notion that "Republicans are better for business."
What business? I always want to ask. The weapons business? Heroin? Have you ever looked at what Reagan, Bush and now Bush II really did for business? If you are in a small clique of huge corporations highly favored by the Bush war machine, you will be okay. If not, you take your chances. Right now things aren't looking too good for most businesses.
Bush senior's term was a disaster for business. The Gulf War was only good for the war industry. Many other industries were devastated. The Bushes are totally focused on their racketeering enterprises to the exclusion of virtually all else. They play the political posturing game, but they are unable to offer much of any real substance for anyone outside of their small clique.
-- By David Cogswell