Steve Rodich – 9/24/04

This page was last updated on September 26, 2004.

Don’t buy diversionary tactics; Steve Rodich; Beaver County Times; September 24, 2004.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Hats off to letter writer George Reese, Republican and veteran, who will not let his party affiliation get in the way of his outrage (‘Santorum demeaned all vets,’ Sept. 5).

“His letter should be a call to all veterans to demonstrate their disgust and refutation of the Bush-Santorum politics and the Swift Boat, right-wing Republicans who are attacking the service of an American hero, John Kerry.”

[RWC] Mr. Rodich conveniently forgets that John Kerry began attacking veterans back during the Vietnam War and has done so ever since. For example, in various accounts Kerry claimed that after an attack all Swift boats except his fled the scene. When the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth said exactly the opposite was true, the Kerry campaign recanted. This was only one example. John Edwards said, “If you have any question about what John Kerry’s made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him.” Now that people are doing just that, we find Mr. Edwards apparently meant only those men hand-picked by the Kerry campaign. Kerry supporters automatically brand as liars any vets who don’t buy into the Kerry story.

Though Mr. Rodich would like us to believe something else, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is made up of Democrats, Republicans, and independents.

Where is Mr. Rodich’s outrage with Kerry’s lies about his fellow servicemen?

“These attacks are an attempt to divert attention from a failed administration, replete with divisive policies and deceitful tactics in order to win an election.”

[RWC] Deceitful tactics, like collusion between CBS and the Democrat party to smear President Bush?

Mr. Rodich, please provide a list of divisive policies.

“Last week, Kerry stated, ‘If you are better off today than you were four years ago, then vote for George Bush. If you are not, then vote for a new direction for this country.’

[RWC] So let me get this straight. Mr. Rodich believes the president is responsible for making us better off? This is a core belief of Marxism/socialism. We as individuals are responsible for our welfare, not the government.

Apparently Mr. Rodich would reword the JFK quote to read, “Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you.”

The relevant question should be, “If you believe the country is better off now than it was four years ago, then vote for George Bush. If not, then vote for a new direction for this country.” At this time four years ago, the recession was beginning, the stock market was beginning to move down, there were no WMD inspectors in Iraq, and al-Qaida was finalizing its 9/11 plans.

“I don’t believe the country is better off. Record deficits, a war that Bush has stated is not winnable, more lost jobs since the Hoover presidency, more people without health care, lower-paying jobs and increased outsourcing (which the Bush administration claims is good for the country).

[RWC] This paragraph reads like a Democrat talking points flyer.

I believe the country is better off, but that’s no surprise.

Saying we have record deficits without taking into account GDP is like complaining about higher prices without taking overall inflation into account. As a percent of GDP, our deficits are not records. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t support deficits. At the same time, I believe they need to be discussed in context.

Mr. Rodich wants us to believe President Bush said the Iraq War is not winnable. That is not true. President Bush was referring to the unconventional nature of the war on terror. Here’s what Bush said. “Can we win? I don’t think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the -- those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world.” What President Bush meant was that unlike a conventional war, the war on terror wouldn’t end with the signing of a treaty.

The “lower-paying jobs” comment doesn’t hold water either. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan doesn’t buy the claim that new jobs are of lesser quality than lost jobs. Testifying before Congress, Greenspan said, “We’ve not been able to find a significantly meaningful change in the quality of the jobs being produced relative to the quality of jobs being lost for the nation as a whole over the last year.” Is that true for Pennsylvania? I don’t know. The real disposable income of American workers has increased every month since at least January 2003 with the exception of September 2003. Home ownership is at its highest point in history and climbing. These facts don’t support Mr. Rodich’s claim.

It’s amazing how many seem to remember President Hoover this year. My guess is most of these folks heard Hoover and thought he invented the vacuum cleaner. What Mr. Rodich didn’t mention is that the economy always creates and destroys jobs. If “old” jobs were not destroyed, there would be no one to take the new jobs.

Let’s look at the facts. Democrats like to say we lost 2.7 million jobs since President Bush took office. What they don’t tell you is that we also generated 1.8 million new jobs. Therefore, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) payroll survey, we lost a net of 0.9 million jobs, 1/3 of that claimed by Democrats. I don’t claim this is cause for celebration, but even this doesn’t tell the whole story.

Each month the BLS actually conducts two job surveys, the household and the payroll surveys. Historically, the payroll survey underestimates employment because it doesn’t count the self-employed or those persons who work at home or on farms. When you use the household survey data, there has been a net employment increase of 1.9 million jobs since President Bush took office.¹ The household survey is also the basis for the official BLS unemployment figures. Now you know why Democrats like to quote the payroll survey.

Regarding the “more people without health care” BS, please go here.

Regarding outsourcing, we’ve been shipping some jobs overseas since before the American Revolution and we always will. Likewise, we also import jobs. Do the American plants of BMW, Honda, Michelin, Sony, Toyota, et cetera ring a bell? The ebb and flow of jobs across borders is a necessary result of free trade. A product must be made where it makes the most economic sense or everyone suffers.

Jobs lost to outsourcing amounted to about 2.5% of all jobs lost during the first quarter of 2004. That’s a pretty small figure and indicates outsourcing is not a big problem. Don’t get me wrong; outsourcing is a big problem if you are the person whose job has been outsourced. For the country as a whole, however, outsourcing is not the boogey man Democrats want us to believe. Even economists at the liberal Brookings Institution agree.

“Bush, U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter and U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart are touting the Medicare prescription bill as a great benefit for senior citizens. What a farce perpetrated against the citizens of this country. I am a retired steelworker. I do not qualify for the benefits they proclaim are the answer to our prescription needs.”

[RWC] Frequent readers will remember that I don’t support any additions to Medicare. That said, note that Mr. Rodich doesn’t detail why he believes the Medicare drug prescription is a “farce,” though it is easy to figure out. The last sentence in the paragraph tells us the real problem Mr. Rodich has with the Medicare prescription drug benefit is that he doesn’t get his “fair share” of government largesse. In other words, Mr. Rodich doesn’t get to put his hand deeper into our pockets and he doesn’t like it.

“Speaking of Medicare, our monthly premiums are being raised effective Jan. 12 by 17 percent. We will not be better off on Jan. 1 than we were last year, much less four years ago.”

[RWC] Regarding the Medicare increases, they would have gone up regardless of who was president. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Medicare deductibles and premiums are updated annually in accordance with formulas set by law.” Without the deductible and premium increases, the deficit of such concern to Mr. Rodich would increase even more.

“Senior citizens, wake up. Republicans, Democrats and Independents, ask yourself if you are better off now than four years ago.”

“More importantly, make every effort to cast your vote. Remember how important one vote is. Bush became president by little more than 500 votes and the help of the Supreme Court in 2000.”

[RWC] I think it is sad how so many Democrat “Kool-Aid drinkers” hold onto that lie known as “the Supreme Court selected President Bush.”

1. Why Are the Dems Griping About Jobs?; Robert J. Barro; BusinessWeek; October 4, 2004. A subscription is required to access this web site.