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The Bush economy disappointed working Americans yet again in October, creating only 92,000 new jobs in October, compared with the 150,000 new jobs needed to absorb even new entrants into the labor force.  The labor market and economy are clearly cooling -- the entire economy registered only a meager 1.6 percent growth in the third quarter.  The unemployment rate came down last month only because workers were self-employed or leaving the labor force altogether.

November marks the fifth year of recovery from the last recession and job growth has been the weakest of any recovery since World War II.   Median wages and family incomes are still below their pre-cession levels.  There are over five million more Americans in poverty than in 2000 and more than six million more with no health insurance.   

The tragedy is that even this tepid recovery seems to be losing steam before working families have seen any real gains in wages and family income.  The recovery has been driven by debt-financed consumer spending as Americans borrowed against the equity in their homes to buy more than their stagnant incomes would justify.  As a result, household savings are negative for the first time since the Great Depression. 

America is on the wrong course -- economically and in other ways -- and American workers will register their desire for economic policies that generate a more broadly-based prosperity next Tuesday at the polls.