But growth likely to slow down. And thats what we want to talk to you about for the first 45 minutes of this edition of the washington journal. Good morning. Today is saturday, october 27. We want to talk to you about your optimism or pessimism about the economy. Things Getting Better . Things getting worse . Are you doing all right . Could you be doing better . We want to talk to you about the economy, your optimism, and your pessimism in terms of your personal economy and not necessarily how you feel the candidates will do, what they might do for the economy once they get elected. 2025853881 for republicans. For democrats, 2025853880. For independents, 2025853882. And you can also reach out to us via social media. The address on twitter, spanwj. Facebook. Com cspan. And email, journal cspan. Org. More from the article this morning from the wall street journal, economy grows at 2 pace. Josh mitchell and refugee write and jeffrey write host well take a look at more newspaper articles dealing with the 2 growth in the Third Quarter. But first, we want to check in on the phones. Cameron is our first caller, calling from west virginia. Hes optimistic about the economy. Why is that, cameron . Caller well, im optimistic because im a republican, and the more the polls, the more that i really realize that people are waking up to the fact that we really need a change, and i really feel that ive been in the coal mines for 32 years. The trickledown government and regulations, weve had several thousand coal miners laid off in west virginia. Ive heard three days ago that 200 Railroad Workers got laid off in the pocahontas division. Its just an expansion of the regulations and the things you know, the president , we can see our electric bills are almost doubled over coregulations. This country was account on coal, and its going to continue to grow on coal. I think that barack obama is the best thing that happened to the Republican Party since jimmy carter. I just really feel, at the end of the day, people are going to wake up when they go to the polls, theyre going to make the right decision. It will be mitt romney. Thank you. Host moving on to elkhart, indiana. Dale is on our line for independents. Dale is optimistic about the economy. Go ahead, dale. Caller hi. How are you . Host im doing fine. You say that youre optimistic about the economy. Why is that . Caller well, our economy is so big, its just going to keep going no matter what, even though we came close to falling off of a cliff, we still rebounded no matter the negative or positive attitudes that were out there. We continue to still grow. We need to have more percentage growth. But i just feel its just going to keep going no matter what our politicians or our big business or anybody does. Host hey, dale, what kind of business are you in . What do you do for a living . Caller im a quality technician for aerospace components. Host and based on the things that youve seen and whats happening in your aerospace industry, does that also help fuel your optimism for the economy . Caller yeah, we added quite a few, probably 30 , 40 of people in the last two years. We keep having more and more growth. Host were going to move on to rosedale, maryland. Leroy is next. Leroy is also optimistic about the economy. Go ahead. Caller things are Getting Better slowly but surely, and no way would i ever want to reverse and if back. These are my reasons. Because on day one, Mitch Mcconnell said he wanted to make president obama a oneterm president. Then the republicans signed a pledge with grover nor quist saying no new taxes, no matter what. But most importantly, when people say president obama had the first two years and everything, the most important thing he had was the filibuster used against him more times on this president than any other president in history. But i still believe, after all those obstacles, we still are moving forward, and theres no way we want to start all over and go back. Host leroy, thanks for the call. The lead story in this mornings New York Times, consumers push economic output to a gain of 2 , better than expected. Housing recovery and defense orders also fueled the Third Quarter. Host back to the phones. Rebecca is calling us from cincinnati this morning. Shes on our line for republicans. Shes optimistic. Go ahead, rebecca. Caller yes. The season will grow due to the fact that i heard over a month ago that walmart for christmas would be training in october 50,000 people, 40,000 for kohls, and all the other stores take into consideration. This is just a temporary 2 . My problem is this. This president had nothing i dont care about race, color, or creed, believe me, and he has hes a charmer. Thats how he got in the first time. Hes trying it the second time. He had three years. Why didnt he do things . He didnt. He was living things up and entertaining and everything. And he went to a food bank to buy a 520 pair of sneakers. Come on now. All i want is people, when they go to vote who have jobs, please, before you look, stop and think of the people who do not pay jobs, who are hurting. Theyre losing their homes. They have children. Its sad. Host were going to move on to alicia in atlanta, georgia, on our line for independents, also optimistic about the economy. Why is that, alicia . Caller good morning. Thank you for taking my call. Im optimistic about the economy, because when i look at my own company, im in the Auto Industry. Not only are we having a record year, we are seeing levels at 2007 levels, record sales, also when i think about the conservative nature of my company, not only are we optimistic about the economy, i mean, were redecorating. So when i sort of look around and see the incredible lot of hiring that were doing at the company, what i look at, the fact that we brought back bonuses, we have brought back raises, i think this is going to be an incredible year. Thats one of the reasons why i voted for president obama back in 2008, because i believe that he could do this, and i think he has, even from the Housing Market standpoint where i live in atlanta. I mean, you try to find a luxury condo for sale, theres nothing for sale. Theres no inventory here in this section in atlanta. I own a rental property as well. I took advantage of the slump, and i bought Additional Properties six months ago. Now in the area that i bought, when i look at the inventory thats available, i cant even get the deals that i was able to get six months ago. The inventory is not even there. Certainly looking for it, i was trying to maybe take advantage of some of this shadow inventory that economists had been talking about, well, where is it its not coming. Id like to buy some of it. The Housing Market is also doing really well, so i just dont believe republicans, with their messages of doom and gloom, and ive already voted for barack obama. Host alicia, the previous caller talked about her optimism being shortterm, in that it was seasonal because of all the hiring thats going on in anticipation of christmas and the other holidays. Do you feel that this economic rebound is shortterm, or are you looking at this as being a longterm thing . Caller i think this is a longterm thing, especially looking at the industry that im in. My undergraduate degree is in engineering. I have a masters in Business Administration and an m. B. A. I work for a very large automaker. We are hiring, not because of christmas. We are hiring because there are demands for vehicles. Im a project manager in new vehicle development. Were localizing even more vehicles. So this is a longterm investment and foresight that our executive management has. This is not some seasonal reaction. Host alicia in atlanta, georgia. Weve got this on facebook, facebook. Com cspan. Paul martin writes host thats paul martin on our facebook page. Back to the phones. Reggie in sayerville, new jersey. Hes a democrat, and hes optimistic. Why is that, reggie . Caller im optimistic. I believe that despite all the ok kells that will the Republican Party has placed before barack obama, he is going to revive this economy. I also believe that you need to take a look at the worldwide economy, and you can understand how much better america is doing. Thats the product of strategy and intelligent implication that the Barack Obama Administration has. When i listen to these republicans, theyre despicable. They practice all types of obstacles in front of this man. They lie. Romney is a serial liar. Host lets go back to the economy. Talk to me about the comparisons in your mind about the u. S. Economy and overseas economy and why your optimism is, in fact, or, as you say, based on how our economy is doing versus economies from overseas. Well, relatively speaking, when you take a look at some of the european economies, particularly some of the cutbacks in government and all it did was fire the economy up into a worse situation, when you take a look at france, they elected a new president there, and hes trying to implement the same type of progressive policies that the Obama Administration has done. Its clear that stimulus has worked despite the distortions about it. It appears this appears to be working in some other parts of europe. Therefore, i think when you take a relative view of it, and you understand that were recovering from the deepest recession since the depression, i mean, to think that one man, with the optimism that the Republican Party has placed is going to revive this economy, its absurd. Host thats reggie. Our next call is joan from palm coast, florida. Shes a republican. She says she is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Why is that, joan . Caller well, it all depends on who is elected for the next presidency term. I believe that mitt romney and paul ryan as Vice President would bring about a reversal of some of the last Government Policies that will cripple this country. We havent seen whats going to happen as a result of the obama healthcare policy, and doddfrank, the doddfrank bill, businesses like to look into the long term. Theyre not looking short term at all. They have to project out their Business Plans for the long term. Host what kind of a business are you in . Caller im not, but im a free market im a free market supporter. And under president obama and joe biden, theyre more for big business. Host are you working down there . Caller no. No, im not retired. Host what kind of work do you do, joan . Caller well, ive done clerical work. Ive done hospital work as a therapist. I worked as a nurses aide for quite a few years. Ive worked in all kinds of businesses. Host and whats the healthcare business like there in palm coast . Caller well, they are enlarging some of the services that will be available. Healthcare is a booming industry. It has been, especially because of medicare and medicaid. But the whole thing is longterm projections. Now, the president the government does not create business. Its Small Business people, but its not the government can set up an environment that is helpful towards business, but under large taxation and policies that will crush business, i see that as a route that obama is taking. Right now the free market is struggling. Host in the Financial Times this morning, u. S. Lanes to stay on growth course u. S. Lanes to stay on growth course. Like a yacht in the wind, no sooner does the u. S. Economy catch a breeze from one direction than a gust comes in from another and it struggle toss move forward. Growth was in the Third Quarter of 2012 as Gross Domestic Product rose at an annualized rate of 2 . Housing gave the economy a boost. Businesses, investment set it back. The growth data point to an economy with little momentum leaves considerable doubt about its resilience to the socalled fiscal cliff of tax rises and spending cuts due at the end of the year. Host back to the phones. Mark in bethesda, maryland, on our line for independents. Mark is optimistic. Go ahead, mark. Caller hey, how you doing . Yeah, i definitely do feel optimistic about the economy. I feel like things are kind of getting back to normal. The Housing Market is starting to recover. There are definitely signs that are visible with that. The Interest Rates are still too low, i think, but i think they will start to head up. Bernanke has said in a few years, so we sort of have easy money now, and people are starting to feel confident again. Host mark, with the Interest Rates this low, do you think that that will help to continue to propel the housing boom, or will we get ourselves into another ballooning situation where people are getting people are getting credit too easily and then later on down the line arent able to afford the houses that theyve moved into . Caller well, i hope not. I feel like the lenders have to be responsible. Lenders have to make sure theyre lending money to people who can afford to pay back those loans. I really hope i dont really understand a lot of the regulations that theyve sort of passed. Everybody always talks about doddfrank, doddfrank, but ive never heard any person actually mention a specific rule that is creating a problem. I would hope that the lenders have gotten to a point where they realize, hey, we cant just be throwing money at people that cant afford it. Now, i have no confidence thats actually going to be the case, but my optimism is based on watching a lot of business, news, and you see a lot of company c. E. O. s coming on cnbc and bloomberg, talking about how strong their Balance Sheets are, thousand really seems like the companies have a lot of money, and theyre poised to really start doing some hiring if the demand would just kick in. I feel like whats going to happen is essentially were going to reach a point where the consumer demand is going to start picking up for products, and people are going to start spending money on new jobs so that they can grow. Host go on to anderson in brooklyn, new york, on our line for democrats, also optimistic about the economy. Go ahead. Caller yes, good morning. Thanks for taking my call. I am extremely optimistic given that im seeing the figures released yesterday on the economy. I am extremely optimistic, and given that i would like for president obama to continue to hit on his policy, the policy stratosphere that he sit, him and joe biden, i believe that the country is on the right track. I am not pessimistic if mitt romney and paul ryan should win the election, because i see a lot of their policies is dating back to the george bush era, and i am not i was extremely pessimistic when george bush got reelected. As a matter of fact, one of the headlines in the British Press said how can america be so stupid . Now, if mitt romney and paul ryan win the election, i think the headlines will be the same. Host anderson, lets get back to the economy. Talk to me about signs that you see signs that make you optimistic in brooklyn. Talk to me about the housing caller well, as a matter of fact, im glad you mentioned brooklyn, because yesterday i was down at flatbush, atlantic avenue, and that, what do you call it, the barclays center, where the home of the Brooklyn Nets will be, there is a lot of Economic Activity. And this Economic Activity started with metrotech, which was on flatbush avenue, and it went on to and is spread ago cross downtown brooklyn. Its becoming to look like upper manhattan, midtown. And, you know, you see peoples enthusiasm bringing these businesses in the area, and i work in manhattan, and you see, you know, youve seen a lot of hiring by big companies. You know, manhattan is a breadbasket of the United States as far as im concerned. Host were going to leave it there, anderson, and move on to ron in pontiac, illinois, on our line for republicans. Ron, youre one of the few guys who called in so far thats pessimistic about the economy. Why is that . Caller well, the business channel, and what theyre talking about going forward, primarily because of obamacare and doddfrank, and the Business Uncertainty thats being created right now, is theyre talking about a loss of six million jobs going into next year, and an Unemployment Rate of over 12 . Now thats just the straight Unemployment Rate. Thats not the Unemployment Rate that includes the parttimers and the people that are discouraged workers. Thats just the real ones. So, what were probably going to see, in my opinion, is romney is going to win the election with at least 53 . The stock market is going take off. And then when they realize the fiscal cliff is not going to be solved, then its going to tank. Its going to have like a minus 700point day, because at this point the stock market hasnt figured in that were not going to resolve the fiscal cliff. It hasnt been something that has been talked about this election season in the debate. Host ron, talk to me about things that are going on in pontiac, illinois, that make you pessimistic about the economy. Caller well, we have a factory that i used to work at here in town, used to run three shifts. It went bankrupt. It was bought up by a spanish company. Host what do they manufacture there . Caller they make frames for shelving , for places like home depot and lowes. In fact, they have the biggest paint tank that you drop these frames into. Host how about you . Where do you work and hows your business doing . Caller oh, im a discouraged worker. I have small investments. Im eating up my nest egg right now. But things on the unemployment picture, we had a whole bunch of companies that announced that theyre laying off this last week, including depoint. Now, the one one profitable section in dupont is their farm division, and we have a plant around locally that does quite well because the price of crops keep going up. Host ron in pontiac, ill