The economy just kee…

The economy just keeps getting better. The latest front: jobless claims.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in more than five years last week, providing strong evidence that the labor market is shaking off the effects of a string of devastating hurricanes.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 35,000 to 291,000, the smallest number since Sept. 23, 2000, when the economy was in the concluding months of the longest economic expansion in history.

The decline of 35,000 claims was much better than Wall Street had been expecting and bolstered the belief that the labor market is on the mend after a rough period in the fall when Gulf Coast hurricanes caused the loss of more than 600,000 jobs over a period of four months.

I believe the economy does the best when government gets out of the way, so I don’t credit Bush with properly manipulating the economy; I credit him with letting capitalism do what it does best. The tax cuts were a good start, but the next step should be a combination of more tax cuts and parallel spending cuts. DeLay was flat wrong that there’s nothing left to cut.

For those who do tend to give the President direct credit for the economy, and especially those who credit Clinton for any upticks during his administration, are you ready to credit Bush now? If not, it’s time to reexamine you opinions.

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