To kick-off his 2006 campaign for permanent - and dangerously irresponsible - tax cuts, President Bush crowed on Friday about his economic stewardship. "The American economy," Bush boasted, "heads into 2006 with a full head of steam."
New economic data released on the same day, however, suggests that the American economic locomotive may be experiencing some engine trouble. After a stellar November, December produced only new 100,000 jobs, roughly half of the gains anticipated by analysts.
Paradoxically, the .1% drop in the unemployment rate to 4.9% reflects weakness in the American economy as well. A happy statistic on its face, the decline in unemployment is a product of the contraction of the total U.S. labor force, which as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, shrank by 30,000 workers in December. The Bush recession and stagnant wage growth have depressed labor force participation; many Americans have simply stopped looking for work. As Clinton economic advisor Gene Sperling points out:

In January 2001, 67.2% of Americans were working or looking for work. If that number had held, there would be an additional 2.7 million people looking for work and the unemployment rate would be 6.6%-1.7% above its official mark.

The disturbing work force participations trends are just another hallmark of the "Bush League Economy." As I wrote in December, despite strong GDP growth and record home ownership rates, Americans feel increasingly insecure about their prospects. The "Insecurity Index" - combining runaway health and energy costs, disappearing health care coverage, stagnant wages and incomes, high profile layoffs, and mounting personal debt - captures a decline in actual livings standards felt by many Americans. (For another take on five measures showing why this unease persists, see "What's Wrong with the Economy?" by Lawrence Mishel and Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute.)
President Bush concluded his sales pitch on Friday with the exhortation, "We've got to still be the greatest hope for mankind on the face of this Earth." He might want to start with the working men and women of America.