The White House on Monday accused the press of talking down the economy in advance of next month’s election and vowed to counter such bias by touting President Bush’s tax cuts.
“It’s amazing,” marveled White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. “I mean, you take a look at consumer confidence levels — they’re skyrocketing. People are feeling good about the economy.
“And if you take a look at the news coverage of it,” Snow added, “it’s been overwhelmingly negative at a time when you do have just an extraordinary situation. It’s been hard to get people to report on it.”
To remedy the situation, Bush on Monday kicked off a two-day effort to talk up the economy. He began by visiting Urban Trust Bank in Washington to discuss the issue with small business owners and community bankers.
“As the economy has grown, the real wages for American workers have increased,” Bush said. “That’s important because not only does it mean the small businesses are doing well, it means our working families are doing well.”
But Democrats hammered Bush and Republican lawmakers for opposing a hike in the minimum wage. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who is considering a run for the White House in 2008, led the attack.
“The federal minimum wage is a national disgrace,” Edwards said. “Republicans in Congress continue to block efforts to raise the minimum wage, I am proud to join the state minimum wage coalitions in their efforts to raise the minimum wage this November.”
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., added: “I promise that if Democrats regain control of Congress, the first thing we’ll do is pass a minimum wage increase for all hardworking Americans.”
Snow argued that Bush is so concerned about poor people he shifted a greater proportion of the nation’s tax burden onto the rich. Fiscal conservatives generally oppose making the tax code more progressive in this way.
“The president is keenly aware of those at the bottom levels of the income scale, which is why their tax burden has gotten not only lighter, but relatively lighter,” Snow explained. “The tax burden has shifted even more so to the higher end of the income scales as a result of the tax cuts enacted three years ago.”
