Americans not too sure about the economy being so good

Despite President Bush and FOX News telling us how great the economy is, most Americans don't believe it for some strange reason:

George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has dropped to 25% as nearly seven in ten Americans say the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. This matches the lowest approval rating for Bush recorded by the American Research Group.

Among all Americans, 25% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 67% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 23% approve and 67% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 26% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 67% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 25% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 67% disapprove.

Americans are split almost dead even on the question of recession:

Overall, 40% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession and 38% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession.

But more importantly, people are finding it harder and harder to live paycheck-to-paycheck in the Bush/Republican economy.

The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.

Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It’s starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help.

Compassionate conservatism has been implemented in response to the pantry issue.

Meanwhile, the income inequality gap continues to widen as the IRS confirms the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are being left behind.

Of course, at a recent Republican debate on economic issues, the presidential candidates all pretended that absolutely nothing is wrong. Can any of us (literally) afford four to eight more years of this crap?