President Bush has been in office for a little over two years. While there has been an enormous amount of discussion lately about a possible war with Iraq (which I oppose), not enough is being heard about the issues that affect the standard of living of average Americans. How have we been doing economically since President Bush took office? What role should Congress play in improving the economy for the middle-class and working families of our country? Some facts:

Unemployment has increased to 5.6 percent, from 3.9 percent, since President Bush took office. In the last two years, 2,365,000 jobs have been lost in the private sector. In 2001, real median household income fell 2.2 percent, the first decline in household earnings in a decade.

The trade deficit continues to rise and is now over $400 billion, including a $100 billion trade deficit with China. More and more of the products we buy come from abroad. In the last several years the United States has lost 1.7 million decent-paying manufacturing jobs, just under 10 percent of our entire manufacturing workforce. Under our current disastrous trade laws, companies are continuing to throw American workers out on the street as they race to China, Mexico and other developing countries in search of cheap labor.

Poverty is increasing. In 2001, 1.3 million more Americans slipped below the official poverty line, the first increase in poverty since 1993. Homelessness is also rising, as lower-income people are increasingly unable to find affordable housing. Requests for emergency shelter increased by an average of 19 percent in 2002, the largest annual increase since 1990.

The stock market continues to decline. Between Dec. 29, 2000, and the end of the third quarter of 2002, the total market value of all U.S. equities dropped by 38 percent — some $6.65 trillion dollars. Almost a third of households have stock market investments through employer retirement plans. The precipitous drop in the stock market has meant that many Americans have been forced to postpone their retirement plans.

The rate of bankruptcies has skyrocketed. In the last two years the United States has had the highest rate of bankruptcy cases in history, increasing 23 percent since 2000. Companies with hundreds of billions in assets have filed for Chapter 11.

The health care crisis is getting worse. Last year health insurance premiums increased by 12.7 percent. The average premium for families is now $7,954 a year. These cost increases, as well as the growth of unemployment, had much to do with another 1.4 million Americans losing their health insurance last year. Today, over 14 percent of Americans lack health insurance, and many more are underinsured.

With 38 percent of those on Medicare having no prescription drug coverage, the cost of medicine continues to skyrocket. The 50 most frequently used drugs by seniors increased 7.8 percent — triple the inflation rate. Many seniors are unable to afford the medicine their doctors prescribe, while others pay for their prescriptions by cutting back on food and heat.

Pension and health insurance anxiety is growing among older workers and retirees. A Bush proposal that would make it easier for corporations to convert the pensions they promised their workers into cash balance plans means that millions of older employees could face a substantial reduction in the retirement benefits they had expected. Recently, bankrupt Bethlehem Steel announced it wouldn’t be paying 95,000 workers their promised health care and life insurance benefits.

The government deficit and national debt are rapidly increasing. Before President Bush took office the government had a surplus of $127 billion and was paying down the national debt. Now, the president’s budget for next year calls for a deficit of more than $300 billion, and that does not include the money that would be spent on a war and occupation of Iraq. A large deficit could lead to massive cutbacks in Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ needs, education and other programs needed by millions of Americans.

Where do we go from here? The president continues to believe that tax breaks for the rich are an effective economic stimulus. I strongly disagree. I believe that the tax breaks given to millionaires and billionaires have more to do with campaign contributions than with job creation. Two years ago the president provided almost 40 percent of his tax breaks to the richest 1 percent. This amounted to a $53,123 tax break for people earning more than $373,000 a year. Now he is proposing more huge tax breaks for the very same people, while less than 10 percent of the benefits would go to the bottom 80 percent of wage earners.

Instead of catering to the needs of the very rich, it’s high time that Congress and the president developed policies to protect the average American. Among many other things, we should: raise the minimum wage to a living wage; fundamentally change our trade policies to increase manufacturing jobs; lower the cost of prescription drugs; and establish a strong prescription drug benefit under Medicare. We should also strengthen Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and veterans programs; increase funding for education and child care; and create millions of new jobs by building affordable housing and improving our infrastructure.

The wealthy in this country are doing just fine. They don’t need more tax breaks. It’s the rest of the people, the vast majority of Americans, who are in economic trouble, and President Bush and Congress should start focusing on their needs.

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