ECONOMY BETTER THAN MEDIA PREDICTED

President Bush may turn out to be the top economic forecaster in the country. About a month ago, he told reporters, "We're not in a recession — we're in a slowdown."

We're in the midst of the most widely predicted and heralded recession in history. Problem is, so far it's a a mirage.

First-quarter GDP growth came in at 0.6%. It wasn't the widely predicted decline, and economists expect that number to be revised up. Gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter of 2007 was also up slightly, while the prior two quarters averaged over 4% growth. You don't GROW in a RECESSION!

I've been called an idiot and unrealistic to even suggest that a terrible recession was not staring us in the face. Yeah, gas & food costs are out of line. Sure everyone has a plan to fix things, but the truth is our system works even when there are bumps in the road. You can fire soaring food and energy prices, a bad housing downturn and a Wall Street credit crunch at it and the economy continues to expand.

Be careful about these feel good, stick it to the rich guy plans being pitched. Sens. Clinton and Obama, want to tax profits heavily for oil companies. When I fill up I feel like spanking them as well but we must think before we act.

Democrats are now calling for a windfall profit tax. Last time we tried that — under Jimmy Carter — foreign energy imports rose by 8% to 16% and domestic energy production fell by 3% to 6% (according to a study by the Congressional Research Service.)

Here's a thought. Let's use our own oil. Expand drilling and production both offshore and in Alaska, give a prize for the first company to build 10 new refineries and use the massive profit that comes out of the ground to cut taxes for all!