Let's all take a step back from the Palinpalooza for a moment and take a look at the disastrous real world results of Bush/McCain economic policies.
The economy is still the #1 issue on voters minds. This is the issue that Democrats should hit hard on to win this election. The economy continues to worsen and McCain is offering the same failed Republican policies that have gotten us where we are today.
A snapshot of the state of U.S. and world economies does not paint a pretty picture.
Follow me over the jump, my friends, but I warn you - it is ugly.
More Americans are unemployed, and jobs decline for the 8th consecutive month.
Jobless rate jumps to 5-year high of 6.1%
The jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. And, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper. The economy lost a whopping 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July, according to revised figures. Previously, the government reported job losses at 51,000 in each of those months.
So far this year, job losses totaled 605,000.
Health care costs continue to rise.
Majority of companies plan to raise healthcare costs
Fifty-nine percent of companies intend to keep down rising health-care costs in 2009 by raising workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits, according to a survey by the Mercer consulting firm.
The stock market continues its decline.
Wall street stock falls after grim jobs data
Over the holiday-shortened week, the S&P 500 fell 3.8 per cent as fears returned about the health of the global economy. That was the index’s third weekly drop and its biggest loss since February.
The housing market has not reached bottom yet and foreclosures set another new record.
Mortgage foreclosure, delinquencies reach high
Foreclosures accelerated to the fastest pace in almost three decades during the second quarter as interest rates increased and home values fell, prompting more Americans to walk away from homes they couldn't refinance or sell.
The credit debacle is not over, banks are failing.
Credit mess far from over
Saying that the current credit crunch is nowhere near done, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Sheila Bair urged banks to raise loss reserves and raise capital. In remarks delivered Friday at a Florida Bankers Association event in Sarasota, Bair said banking results for the second quarter were "dismal," and like to get worse going forward before they get better. snip
The FDIC’s "problem list" grew to 117 institutions from 90 at the end of the first quarter ... That is the largest number on the list since the middle of 2003.
Global markets are suffering and Europe fears recession, threatening the U.S. export market, one of the few areas of the economy to benefit from the fall of the dollar.
"Panic" grips global markets
In the span of just 72 hours, the S&P/TSX composite index has plunged 957 points or 7 per cent, including a 324-point tumble Thursday that could have been much worse: At one point, the index was down as much as 428 points before a few brave – or reckless – bargain hunters stepped in.
"The sentiment has gone from euphoria to panic," said John Stephenson, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management.
Recession worries send euro to new low
Mounting gloom about the German economy pushed the euro to a six-month low against the dollar on Tuesday as a closely watched survey showed business leaders in Europe’s biggest economy more nervous about the six months facing them than at any time in the past 15 years.
But lest you despair, there is some good news - for the very rich folks like McMansions and Bush.
Worlds richest got even richer last year
The top 1 percent of all households owned 35 percent of the world's wealth last year. Meanwhile, the top 0.001 percent, ultra-rich households holding at least $5 million in assets, commanded $21 trillion -- a fifth of the world's wealth.
Barack Obama's economic plan offers solutions that will actually work for the shrinking middle class. McCain, on the other hand, wants to tax the employer's portion of health insurance premiums and make the obscene Bush tax cuts permanent.
McCain wants to not only continue to spend billions on the failed War on Terror, he wants to expand it to new territories.
Forget about the culture wars. If you are phonebanking or canvassing, this is the issue that voters want to hear about.
America can not afford another four years of economic failures.