OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: Sen. Bernie Sanders: Why He Opposes the Nussle Appointment as OMB Director

How can the President and his economic advisors claim that the economy is "vibrant"- when the number of college graduates earning poverty level wages has more than doubled over the past 15 years?

While the president tells us how "robust"- and "vibrant"- the economy is, the American people know better. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published last month, more than two-thirds of Americans said they believe the U.S. economy is either in recession now or will be in the next year.

Meanwhile, 72 percent of Americans surveyed in the most recent Gallup Poll said the economy was "getting worse," the most pessimistic outlook on the economy since Gallup began asking the question in the early 1990s.

In addition, Mr. President, consumer confidence is at a two year low and the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits increased for five consecutive weeks something that hasn't happened since May of last year.

The fact that the economy is not booming should not be rocket science. If the president spoke to workers whose jobs have been outsourced to China, or middle class families who are trying to send their kids to college, he might get a clue as to what was happening in the real world. But as long as the president lives in a cocoon surrounded by advisors who won't tell him what's really going on in America, he is not going to be able to develop policies that help solve our nation's problems.

Mr. President, when it comes to the economy, as with so many other issues, what the Bush Administration needs is a serious reality check.

And, the reality is that each and every morning millions of Americans drag themselves out of bed, often at about 5 AM, and wonder how they are going to pay the bills.

Their day begins by taking their kids to daycare. And, many of them wonder is this the last day that they will be able to afford childcare? Who will take care of their kids? Mom isn't able to stay at home like she was able to do 30 years ago. That is not an option. It now takes two-incomes to support a family. That is the first reality check.

Then they drive to work, and many of them wonder how they are going to pay for the price of gasoline, and you know what, Mr. President? They start to get angry. They understand that for the past 2 years, Exxon-Mobil has made more profits than any company in the history of the world. They hear that the former CEO of Exxon Mobil, Lee Raymond, received a $400 million retirement package, and that gets them mad.

But, they can't stay angry about that for very long because then they have to go to work. And, at work, many of them will receive a notice from their employer that their pension is being cutback; their healthcare premiums will be rising; their prescription drug coverage has been eliminated; their pay will be going down, and, by the way, if they try to complain, their job is going to China. Their job is going to Mexico. Their job is going to Vietnam. Or even more insulting, they will have to train their own replacement who just came in from India on an H-1B visa.

So, they put up with the cuts to their pension. They don't object to the cutbacks in their health benefits. They even accept a cut in their pay and they stay on the job. They play by the rules, they don't say a word, and they pray that their job will be there tomorrow.

And, then Mr. President, after working 8, 10, 12 hours, they go to their mail box. And, they open it up. And, what do they find? They find out that the interest rate on their credit card (the credit card that they are using to pay for childcare, to pay for gasoline, to buy groceries, diapers and prescription drugs) has tripled even though they were never late paying the bill. They find out that the interest rate on their Adjustable Rate Mortgage will double next month. And, some of them have learned that their utility bill will be going up by 50 to 70 percent.

That is the reality that millions of middle class Americans have to live with every single day.

And, what I fear the most is that if we keep going in the direction that we are headed our children and our grandchildren will have a lower standard of living than we do. We must not allow that to happen.

But, Mr. President, I am afraid that it already is. According to a recent joint study by the Pew Charitable Trust and the Brookings Institution men in their 30s earned on average 12 percent less in 2004 than their fathers did in 1974 after adjusting for inflation.

The President desperately needs an OMB Director who is not afraid to tell the President the truth about these harsh economic realities, not an echo. He needs a budget director who will make him face the facts, not fan his fantasies. And, perhaps most importantly, he needs a Budget Director who is willing to compromise with a Democratic Congress for the benefit of all of the American people, not just large corporations, and the wealthy few. Unfortunately, I am afraid Jim Nussle is not that person.

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