The Deception of Dow 11,000

The disclaimer appears ahead of most movies formatted for television: “This film has been edited for content and modified from its original version to fit your TV.” A similar disclaimer should apply to the Bush administration infomercials drugging up newscasts about the economy. In black and white, the recent surge of statistical exuberance looks good indeed. Four million jobs created in the last two years. Unemployment below 5 percent. Inflation relatively in check. Still-cheap interest rates. Economic growth between 3 and 4 percent, better than every western economy but Denmark’s. “It’s getting pretty hard for the critics to make the case that the tax cuts weren’t good for the economy,” Vice President Dick Cheney told workers at a Harley-Davidson plant in Kansas City last week. Actually, it’s never been easier to show why the tax cuts were closer to the worst thing for the economy, if it’s ordinary Americans’ well-being you’re worried about (as opposed to shareholder comforts). Read the full column...