Schumer: ‘The President Is Indeed Behaving Like Herbert Hoover’
Schumer: ‘The President Is Indeed Behaving Like Herbert Hoover’
As the economy spirals downward into what many economists view is already a recession, President Bush delivered a speech this week expressing confidence “in the ability of the markets” to turn it around.
In 1930, as the U.S economy was sinking into deep recession, President Herbert Hoover said this to Congress:
Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves.
In his speech this week, Bush echoed Hoover: “The temptation of Washington is to say that anything short of a massive government intervention in the housing market amounts to inaction. I strongly disagree with that sentiment. … Government actions are — have far-reaching and unintended consequences.”
The unfortunate similarities in these statements and attitudes led Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to offer this observation on Fox News this morning:
The President is indeed behaving like Herbert Hoover. We’re in the most serious economic problem we’ve been in in a very long time — much worse than 2001. The President’s hands-off attitude is reminiscent of Herbert Hoover in 1929 and 1930.
Schumer added that this has become “the Bush recession,” while Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) noted that this will be the second recession in this administration. Watch it:
In an editorial this morning, the New York Times fact-checks Bush’s economic speech:
Mr. Bush boasted about 52 consecutive months of job growth during his presidency. What matters is the magnitude of growth, not ticks on a calendar. The economic expansion under Mr. Bush — which it is safe to assume is now over — produced job growth of 4.2 percent. That is the worst performance over a business cycle since the government started keeping track in 1945. […]
Mr. Bush was wrong to say wages are rising. On Friday morning, the day he spoke, the government reported that wages failed to outpace inflation in February, for the fifth straight month. Productivity growth has also weakened markedly in the past two years, a harbinger of a lower overall standard of living for Americans.
Bush’s “denial of the economic truth” means that “Americans are ill-prepared for hard times” ahead.
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The CHIMP is in denial,He is going to stay the course until next January of 09 when he can blame it on the DEMOCRATS. He is a billionaire who ran this country into the ground and he does not care about anything but WAR.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:09 amBush is worse than Hoover. Our ex-drunken fratboy cheerleader lying sociopathic commander and thief doesn’t even measure up that extremely low bar.
And I am not posting comments too fast……the site is too slow.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:12 amBush is worse than Hoover. Our ex-drunken fratboy cheerleader lying sociopathic commander and thief doesn’t even measure up that extremely low bar.
What makes you think that GDumbya is ex-drunken? I see no evidence of that. Seems to me that he is hitting the bottle on a daily basis. What else could explain his incoherent incompetence?
There is no former president to whom GDumbya compares. He defies comparison. There has never been as huge a wastrel in the White House.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:20 amDoesnt Bush remind you of Hitler dancing a jig ?
He’s demonstrating inapropriate affect and seems totally F@cking delusional.
Seriously. The “romantic” remarks about being on the front lines?
He’s LOST it.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:21 amHigh unemploment,inflation,the dollar at or near all time lows and a WAR that is taking this country into a downward spiral and he does nothing.He must drink himself to sleep every night so he can fantasize about a WAR he can never win.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:25 amShumer and Dodd on Fox news Sunday ripping the bush admin a new ass on the economy…….that’s got to be a bitter pill for the fox regulars…heh.
two recessions in his term…..compared to Hoover…..yay. truth….spoken on fox nuz.
Bush’s “denial of the economic truth” means that “Americans are ill-prepared for hard times” ahead.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:28 amI couldn’t agree with Sen. Schumer more. This idiot who shouldn’t have never been elected in the first place doesn’t have a clue about what to do. He is just giving speeches that don’t make sense in the face of an ecomony that is already in a recession, and could turn into a depression. I was one of the top economist in the country say recently, “If you have money in the bank, you’d better get it out and put it into gold or some other metal because if you don’t it will be useless when the depression hits”. That very same economist and some of the other top economist in this country are openly saying, “We could be heading for another depression”.
I have tens of thousands of dollars in my acount and I’m seriously thinking about getting my money out slowly to avoid having it turn into worthless paper. If we elect Sen. McCain President, we will have depression, and that’s my signal to start getting my money out before it’s too late.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:36 amtom Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
What makes you think that GDumbya is ex-drunken? I see no evidence of that. Seems to me that he is hitting the bottle on a daily basis. What else could explain his incoherent incompetence?
Sorry Tom that sentence was a little bit confusing.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:37 amI was referring to his previous experience of being a drunken fratboy cheerleader.
He could well be hitting the bottle as President too, although I tend to subscribe to the theory that there are also possibly medications involved and maybe organic brain dysfunction due to medical reasons in addition to any problems stemming from his untreated addiction to alcohol.
I just got a message stating: “You are posting comments too quickly, please slow down”. What the he double tooth picks does that mean. Big brother apparently can’t read as fast as I can type I guess. Man, why don’t they get people who can read, and then they can record my comments faster. If you are going to spy on me at least do it at a faster rate!
March 16th, 2008 at 11:39 amIf government intervention is bad, then why is he bailing out Bear Stearns, or was this done without the Unitary Executives approval. Their lies have come full circle and there’s no way out for them.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:46 amThe Shadow Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I just got a message stating: “You are posting comments too quickly, please slow down”. What the he double tooth picks does that mean.
I just got it too, and it was my first comment of the morning. I think it just means the server’s overloaded.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:48 amBut, but, but, September 11…
March 16th, 2008 at 11:48 amYou’re right toaasterhead — the server is overloaded. I apologize this is taking so long to resolve.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:50 amBush has never had to worry about money; never had to worry about keeping a job; has no clue what grave issues are faced by the average American. The bubble-boy is completely out of touch — we used to think that of his father, but W makes pappy look compassionately involved by comparison.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:55 amBush is in a state of denial, no doubt, but it follows that a learning-deficient, self-absorbed, sociopath would not be realistic.
He cannot accept responsibility for anything. He believes he inherited a recession, he believes he is a great commander in chief, he believes he is a decider, he believes challenges are black or white, he doesn’t understand complexity and nuance. He is a product of the elite class, of a paternal inferiority complex, of a domineering mother, of a cloistered life among the rich, and of having his privileged life allow him to develop irresponsibility and arrogance to an art form.
Bush, the sugar-coating liar, is preparing the people for the fascist takeover.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:57 amBush media propaganda outlets keep pushing ‘no confidence’ theory as a cause of recession…when the actual cause is the bankrupt US economy all caused by the Bush administration and Republicans out of control spending and stealing from the US treasury. There is no confidence around the globe for Americas economy…the effect is no confidence by Americans CAUSED by a morally and economically bankrupt Republican administration.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pmThe thing about the definition of a recession that makes no sense is that you have to be in a recession for 6 months before you can call it a recession. What’s up with that.
Anyone who isn’t uber wealthy knows we are in a recession and suspects that we are heading for a depression. The fact that Bush thinks he knows more about the economy than 70% of the economists (the other 30% are Bush-Bots) has to tell you something about the fantasy world this man lives in.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:08 pmBefore Beranke gives away $200 billion, does he at least call Bush to tell him? Or do the banks treat the White House the same way the administration walks all over congress, and just brief them after the fact.
Bush doing nothing may be the most productive thing he can do in any situation, unless you’re a KBR shareholder.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:10 pmFaiz Says:
You’re right toaasterhead — the server is overloaded. I apologize this is taking so long to resolve.
If your server is overloaded with the few people posting here today, what is it going to do when we have a full contingent of posters?
March 16th, 2008 at 12:18 pmThe Carlyle Group enjoyed the bailout as well. Poppy Bush and Saudis but Americans should suck it up.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:32 pmtexaslady Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
The Carlyle Group enjoyed the bailout as well. Poppy Bush and Saudis but Americans should suck it up.
Thank goodness the rich don’t have to suffer like the poor — they’re just not accustomed to it.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:37 pm/sarc
Great article on http://www.gregpalast.com showing ties to bankers bailout and Spitzer’s lynching. Bankers were upset by Spitzer investigating shady lending.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:39 pmCarlyle’s stock went up $10 Billion that afternoon. Of course Countrywide CEO still has his walkaway millions. What asses all of them !
March 16th, 2008 at 12:45 pm22 texaslady,
March 16th, 2008 at 12:53 pmI wonder why this fact is not being shared more….even on progressive sites like Huffington it is barely being touched on…..Spitzer has been top news story for a week now but the connection to his investigation of Carlyle has never been mentioned on msm…..
Forget the economy, we need to focus on Obama’s former minister.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pmFred check out Crooks & Liars for the whole connection. 3rd try to get this posted.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pmi can’t find the quote, but i heard it last week or so, on AP radio news…
duby finally admitting that there were problems, but saying, “WE WERE PREPARED FOR IT”…
he said that - or something very like it - after just the week before saying the “economy is strong”…
i really really really hate these lying LIARS.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:12 pmtexaslady, I think they will get it fixed. Seems like it happens when two people are trying to post at the same time….
I have been copying my post before submitting it when I can remember….
March 16th, 2008 at 1:13 pmtexaslady Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Great article on http://www.gregpalast.com showing ties to bankers bailout and Spitzer’s lynching. Bankers were upset by Spitzer investigating shady lending.
whoa - did anyone catch ben stein on CBS MORNING? wow… the topic:
does the punishment fit the crime? … ben said NO…
hopefully C&L will post that clip…
March 16th, 2008 at 1:15 pmYes Spitzer really effed up. However, there is a certain stink surrounding the entire thing. Spitz has a history of ferreting out corruption at high levels. You do the math.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pmWho are the “we” in we are prepared. Most of us can only depend on ourselves not Bernanke to hand out money. Oh, I forgot the “huge” stimulus check coming.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:18 pmkaty- I did and Stein is usually a bush lover so, WOW !
March 16th, 2008 at 1:20 pmtesaslady - i took it that he was referring to his admin, or the feds, as “we”…
but it was such a bald faced lie… or, if they WERE ready, they were lying about
how great the economy was… either / or…
…
also, TP, my first posts went well, till this one… 4th try… it’s telling me i’m too fast, slow down…
March 16th, 2008 at 1:30 pm5th
katy - well considering how ready bush has been for every crisis since 2001 that is very scarey.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:33 pmbush, The Craptacularist, has an unblemished record of screwing up everything he’s associated with. Now he has the opportunity to do for the US economy what he’s done for US Foreign Policy: turn it into a steaming pile of crap.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:40 pm.
Schumer says bush was wrong, how about Bush is lying, now that would be refreshingly honest.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:43 pmYes, wouldn’t one think that the bail out of the Carlyle Capital group would have earned a hedline or two, considering the strong conneciton to Bush and his extended family?
March 16th, 2008 at 2:08 pmMarie you just hit the nail on the head…connection to the Bush group…huge silence.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pmBernanke is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars ALREADY by bailing out the markets. A central bank is an intervenionist tool and dont think we dont know about the secret meetings the congress is involved in to further bail-out the predatory lenders. Have they forgotten the stimulus package already
Geez, TP, fix the ‘posting comments too quickly’ timer, I have moved to this thread, from above thread, typed out this post, and I am still posting to quickly…? Why I can barely type fifteen words a minute. =P Not only that, I fixed a salad and came back to the laptop and I’m still posting to fast. Im a turtle for gawrsh sakes.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:43 pmStop bailing out the markets your killing us with inflation and high prices!!
March 16th, 2008 at 2:48 pmPerhaps guns are the metal to be investing in rather than gold.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:53 pmThank God Henry Paulson got on the Tube and said the economy is only going through a “rough patch”. I was starting to get concerned there.
/sarc
March 16th, 2008 at 3:07 pmThe current economic situation is like a rope being stretched on both ends in different directions. On one end, the price of oil skyrocketing hovering around $110. On the other end, the dollar is worth less and less as we speak. Evidently the rope is about to break! G-Dumbya-Bush either doesn’t get it or is determined to destroy the economy, so he keeps dumping billions a month on a never ending failed war. Which will crash first the economy or the dollar? Either way we’re screwed! The american economy is being choked to death!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pmThis is much worse than year 2001 recession…In 2001 we did not have a war that is eating up our budget.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:44 pmIn 2001 we did not have a housing market problem.
In 2001 oil was at a very reasonable price per barrel..It was fluctuating between $17.00-$22.00 in year 2001.
In 2001 we did not have a ‘credit crunch’ and banks like these days are looking for cash to stay afloat,with huge burden of liabilities.
What we had in 2001 was a small period recession which was caused by drop in liquid assets, personal and croporate due to fall in values of many stocks which indeed were overvalued at that ime.
It was a big correction.
But what we have now..is the value of US dollar almost cut in half,oil is almost 5 times in price since 2001.
We are facing severe and tough competition worldwide to our products,while overhead of our corporations is getting higher from health to fuel.
These coproations started to move overseas,taking good jobs with them. We are left with services jobs,which is paying less,and making it harder on the average guy to cope with higher cost of living.
We have now currency problem..also an export problem selling our goods, we have an import problems finding a way to buy our fuel from abroad..our dollar is struggling…yet we keep adding more nations to sanctions list,while we need every country to sell our goods to. We have also war mongers who want to get us in more wars ..they seem not to learn from what we are in now.
We need to change ways we are doing now by applying new methodolgies and thinking. We need to look for our interests based on cooperation with all countries around the world..to open markets for our products, simply to survive.
The policy of borrowing to spend from other countries must stop..we have now nine trillion dollars debt and every few months this figure keeps getting higher and higher.
We need people who can put five or ten years plan to put this country on track again while we can…
But.. but… look at the stock market! It’s up a few points points! The economy is roaring!
/sarc off
March 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pmI have doubts that we will recover from the disastrous Bush administration in my lifetime.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:09 pmThe only positive about my comment is that I still do expect recovery — sometime.
Marie Says:
March 16th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I have doubts that we will recover from the disastrous Bush administration in my lifetime.
The only positive about my comment is that I still do expect recovery — sometime.
That is a possibility. There were some economists a few years ago who said oil in the $80-85/barrel range would trigger a recession. It’s now sitting very comfortably well above $100. I think the dollar is finished as far as it’s position as the global reserve currency.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pmIt is only going to drop further, especially once the change over to trading oil in euros is complete. Everyone is moving out of dollars.
That might be why Dick Cheney has to start WWW3 before he leaves office.
Bushvilles springing up around the country–we take you back to those thrilling days of yesteryear and Hoovervilles–sponsored by your friends at Neo-Con.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:54 pmThe stubborness of Bush and his inability to admit making mistakes assures us that he will indeed make another major mistake. You can take it to the bank.
It was interesting to hear Henry Paulson today on Fox News. He certainly didn’t say anything that will soothe the markets on Monday. His answers were defensive and evasive — on a friendly network at that. I have a hard time deciding if Paulson was clueless or telling us his hands were tied. With his background he shouldn’t be clueless but if his hands are tied he should just resign.
Bottom line, Bush is just ill-suited for the job of President of the United States. He has time and again shown poor leadership skills. Adm. Fallon’s sudden departure is just the latest example of that.
March 16th, 2008 at 7:00 pmThe irony is that Bush has no problem ordering the treasury to coin billions of dollars to give to the banks after losing billions in loans during the housing bubble. It is absolutely frightening what his is doing to our economy.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:49 pmGlenn Beck and his “economic experts” were coo’ing on the “benefits” of the Bush tax breaks a few nights back. According to them, the rich need money to give to us and if for any reason the rich don’t get that money, we get screwed. Oh and if we for some reason got a bigger benefit than they would, we’d be irresponsible with the money, i.e. not investing and putting it toward everyday needs. Glenn was audacious enough to state that he’s never worked for a poor person and mocked both of Hillary and Barack’s healthcare proposals with none of his own. Because alas, we already have the GREATEST system in the world, according to the Viceroy of Crazyland!!!!! Maybe Glenn does need the tax break, since he’s stupid enough to give 10% of what he earns to a tax-exempt church. And he’s probably also taken a bath in the stock market, because of that damned housing market and those deadbeat home owners. If there is a god, it’s time to smite this born-again sh!t-talker. If you abuse a substance, find GAWD…for the second or third time and become a success, lord only knows we have to listen to how you love Jesus and hate anyone who doesn’t take the pills with the crucifix’s on them!!!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:39 pmThe problem is that for the past 26 years in the US wages and benefits have sucked. Recently, homeowners have counted on their homes going up in value and using the equity to pay off their debts. This should be done by wages. Now that home values have dropped, it has created a crisis. Republican solution: give $200 billion to the banks.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:17 amNo president can do a damned thing if he wanted to. Our collective balls are held in the tight grip of the unaccountable and shadowy Federal Reserve Board. If a president said “Hey Fed, raise interest rates.” They would laugh at him and then the whole charade would be exposed for what it is.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:18 amHarding, Coolidge, and Hoover (1924-1933) had trickle-down economics. It gave us The Great Depression. At the height of Roaring 20’s prosperity, the majority of Americans were below the poverty line.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:19 amTypo Correction: (1921-1933)
March 17th, 2008 at 12:20 amFor Bush, Economy’s second name is KATRINA!
March 17th, 2008 at 1:31 amIt’s ironic…I was recording something and when I switched from my DVD recorder to my default channel (which is C-SPAN) Bill Clinton was speaking, at the exact moment of the channel switch, started talking about the functions of a trickle-down economy. This place has powers.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:12 amI disagree with this. The Fed has bent over backwards to cooperate with bush and is an equal partner in this problem.
I disagree with your notion that a president can’t do anything to effect the economy too. Presidents control regulatory agencies……this has a major effect on our economy. I can’t imagine you not understanding that.
de-regulation was the by word of the hoover administration….sound familiar? Results starting to look similar?…..
March 17th, 2008 at 8:50 amFact checking Bush is a waste of time. Whatever he says, we know the opposite is true. It’s literally that easy. Bush speak=Bush lie.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:47 pmWell, since another disaster is in progress, I guess it’s time for Bush to go on vacation again. Even if he was able to pull his head out of his ass long enough to say something that is actually true and meaningful, he has no credibility. He may as well spend out his last days in Crawford, or run home to mommy.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:01 amHOW STUPID WE ARE…………….WE ALL JUST SIT BACK AND WATCH THIS IDIOT DESTROY THIS COUNTRY
March 18th, 2008 at 12:30 pm