Putrid President Bush - The Economy (News) (Commentary)

President Bush, our very own simple-minded "man in the White House," has screwed up just about everything he touched. This week CNN is doing a week-long series of stories on the economy and how deeply the current decline in the economy will reach. Bush is really, really working hard to reach for the title of "Worst President Ever."

Here's a summary of a lot of the economic woe that his policies have brought on. From Progress Report, March 17, 2008.

In a recent Wall Street Journal survey of the nation's top economists, 70 percent said the economy is in a recession and half said that "this year could be worse than the 2001 and 1990-91 downturns." "The evidence is now beyond a reasonable doubt," said one Wells Fargo & Co. senior economist. The Commerce Department also said last week that retail sales -- which account for more than 70 percent of U.S. economic activity -- fell 0.6 percent in February. Last month also saw the national unemployment rate increase as the Labor Department announced that the nation had lost 63,000 jobs -- the second consecutive monthly job decline. While the American public is in line with economists on the realities of the economy, President Bush has only recognized a "slowdown. " Bush recently acknowledged that the "root cause of the economic slowdown has been the downturn in the housing market." But in a speech last week, Bush echoed President Herbert Hoover's sentiments regarding government intervention into a struggling economy, saying he "strongly disagree[s]" with "massive government intervention in the housing market." Bush said in his Saturday radio address : "The market now is in the process of correcting itself, and delaying that correction would only prolong the problem."

Beyond job losses, a decrease in retail sales, and the housing market crisis , a Center for American Progress (CAP) economic outlook shows that wages remain flat, family debt has hit record highs, fewer people have health insurance, and an increasing number are paying more for basics. In addition to housing woes, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the nation's credit crunch is also fueling the economy's downturn . Additionally, government spending is in the red. The Treasury Department announced last week that "the U.S. federal government ran a monthly budget deficit of $175.56 billion in February, a record for any month" and "46% bigger than the deficit of $119.99 billion in February 2007." Last week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) illustrated that the federal debt incurred during Bush's presidency has reached $7.7 trillion. The value of the dollar is also in free fall, plunging below the 100 yen level last week for the first time in 12 years and "hitting a new low against the euro " today. Iraq war costs are reaching astronomical proportions, with projections ranging anywhere from $10-12 billion per month . The war has also helped oil prices skyrocket -- prices per barrel have recently reached record highs . Naturally, Bush has passed the buck. When asked during a recent interview about the rising oil prices, Bush deferred to "experts," saying: "I’m just a simple president ."