What is a Good Economy?

The Dow closed today at a record 13,861 after posting a 283 point gain for the day. The biggest one day gain since March of 2003. The S & P 500 hit an all time record close of 1547. The driving force behind the gains today were retail sales. Sales at 50 major chains rose a combined 2.4 percent, according to a tally by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The results beat its most recent forecast of a 1.5 to 2 percent rise. Wal-Mart’s better than expected sales jump of 2.4 percent was one of the primary catalyst for the market’s rise.

Here are a few highlights of the economy as of today:

• Record highs for the stock markets.
• Average hourly earnings are at historical highs of $17.38 per hour.
• The Federal Reserve has kept the short term interest rates at 5.25 percent.
• The Federal Government has recorded it’s one day record of overall and corporate tax receipts of 85.8 billion.
• The unemployment rate is currently 4.2 percent. Lower than the average during the Clinton years.
• The nations budget deficit was $413 billion in 2004 and is expected to drop to $205 billion in September’s year end for the government. Because of record tax receipts.
• Inflation is in check.

The current field of the Democrat party’s presidential candidates have not had one single debate without bemoaning the horrible state of the economy. They have cried that the economy is only benefiting the wealthy and leaving the middle class and poor behind. The Democratic sycophants strategist have all echoed the same pathetic rhetoric as the presidential candidates about the economy. Every single left wing economic pundit for the past year, commenting after the market reaches a new high, starts off with the same phrase: don’t read too much into these numbers. The market closed at 4:00 pm est today, I had already heard the phrase “don’t read too much into this by 4:10 on a business program.

It is not the wealthy, the fat cats or the rich driving retail sales, especially at Wal-Mart. It is the backbone of this country–the middle class and working class citizen. What the economically challenged left either cannot grasp or is purposely avoiding admitting, is if retail sales this time of year are driving the market, it is because people are working, have disposable income to spend and are spending it. It is junior high economics. As the middle class are working and spending, they are literally being told on a daily basis by the left and the main stream media how horrible the economy is and how adversely it is affecting their lives and their only salvation is for a Democrat to be elected to the White House.

Even though the left would do anything to derail the current state of the U. S. economy, they have yet to state what they would replace the current economy with or what a good economy is.

I really would like to know……What is a good economy?