You see, Bush and his minions and partners in crime believe that rising corporate profit is no problem, that doubling in oil prices is no problem, that increasing commodity prices is no problem, that it's perfectly ok for corporations to raise prices "as much as the market will bear." Inflation be damned. But, when it comes to the American worker, this is where Bush's Regime draws the line! They want increased productivity and efficiency, and a "flexible" work force. This means squeezing every last minute of work out of every worker, giving them minimal benefits, firing them at a moment's notice or laying them off whenever possible, screwing the worker in every possible way. Thus, their inflation control strategy focuses almost exclusively on reducing Americans' wages. And they have been quite successful at screwing the American worker.
An explanatory note: The Federal Reserve Board, totally appointed by Bush, sees it as its duty to raise interest rates as unemployment decreases and as pressure for improved wages and working conditions increases. This is because part of inflation is labor costs (including income, benefits, etc.). But the Fed doesn't seem to be nearly as concerned about rising corporate profits or oil prices. They only react when workers start doing better, not when companies start doing better. The result? We just went through a "jobless recovery." Yes, there has been a small blip in employment recently, but this is very small compared to the improvements experienced by workers during the Clinton economic recovery which dwarfs the Bush recovery. Clinton wanted workers to benefit. Bush doesn't. It's as simple as that!