Markets slide, political repercussions

As we see the markets shrug off Bush's lame defense of the economy and undergo its sixth day of relentless pummeling, articles like this one bear watching.

An increasing number of Americans have a stake in the stock market via stocks, mutual funds, and 401(k)s, and market performace, like never before, now has direct political repercussions. The fact that the current crash (yeah, I consider a near-10 percent drop in a week a "crash") can be directly linked to Bush's half-assed "reform" proposals further highlights the link. And there are real electoral dangers, considering that 70 percent of voters in 2000 were also investors.

Despite GOP efforts to blame Clinton for the crisis, it's clear that the public identifies Republicans with Big Business. And, so long as the markets maintain their downward spiral, they have the most to lose.

Posted July 15, 2002 09:03 AM | Comments (1)