The American Economy has taken a major hit

The American economy is not growing as the present administration promised it would. 
The economy took a second major hit in June 2004 as consumer spending plummeted 9 percent after a short gain of 1 percent. Wall Street is also taking a serve beating. 

Consumer spending is the driving force behind the American economy, but with the lay-offs, retail price increases, and energy price increases, consumers are spending less these days.  While US businesses announced there were 69,572 job cuts in July. 

Until the massive unemployment can be resolved, consumer spending will continue to decline and the government is also concerned about the sharp increases in over the board prices.   

The most obvious is this is a vicious circle, spending is down, so to offset that, companies raise their prices, which leads then to less consumer spending. Our economy is going 360 degrees in the opposite direction. 

Alan Greenspan, chair of the Federal Reserve, said "There is no real underlying evidence of any cumulative weakness here.  Whatever that means.  Greenspan is also confident, as he has been daily, for the last four years that the economy will pick up any day now.  This is not the time for tarot card predictions. 

During the great depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt implemented the WPA a program that provided public jobs for the unemployed.  Millions were put back to work. 

Perhaps, it might be time for the Federal government to bring back WPA, but because of tax cheating and tax loop holes, the money is not coming in to support such a program, or any more social programs for that matter. 

Tax cheating is costing the country 254 billion dollars per year according to the Internal Revenue Service.  Untold billions are lost each year through tax loop holes.  For the last 4 years, nothing has been done to correct this matter. Four years ago, we were told the economy was top priority. 

Michael Berglin