THE ECONOMY: "Ten Bullets" To Shoot Down The Democrats' Big Lie

self

[The_Macallan]

 
The Democrats "Big Lie"

"This is the worst economy since Herbert Hoover."


The "Ten Bullets" To Shoot Down That Lie

1. Unemployment rate after GWBush's 3rd year is identical to after Clinton's 3rd year.
2. Family poverty rate is lower, on average, under GWBush than under Clinton.
3. "Deep" poverty rate is lower, on average, under GWBush than under Clinton.
4. Homeownership rate is now higher than anytime in history.
5. Inflation rate fell more under GWBush than Clinton and is now lower after GWBush's 3rd year than Clinton's 3rd year.
6. Growth rate of the national debt per American is nearly the same as during the 1990s.
7. Federal Deficit as a % of GDP is nearly the same as the past six decades average.
8. Number of people employed rose more than number of unemployed under GWBush.
9. Tax burden for middle-class families was reduced FAR more than for "rich" families.
10. Average hourly and weekly earnings rose more under GWBush than Clinton and are now higher than ever in history.



The Details

1. Unemployment Rate -

Jan 2004: 5.6% (After GWBush's 1st three years)
Change in rate from prior year (Jan '03-'04): 0.3%, Decrease

Jan 1996: 5.6% (After Bill Clinton's 1st three years)
Change in rate from prior year (Jan '95-'96): 0.0%, No change

* The Unemployement Rate is the same after GWBush's 1st three years as it was after Bill Clinton's 1st three years.
* The Unemployment rate steadily declined in the third year with GWBush while it remained unchanged in Bill Clinton's third year.
Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics

2. Poverty Rate For Families (Two-Year Average) -

2001-2002: 9.40% (GWBush's 1st two years)
1993-1994: 12.95% (Clinton's 1st two years)
1993-2000: 10.50% (Average for Clinton's full eight years)

* The % of families living in poverty is lower after two years under GWBush than after two years under Bill Clinton - even lower than 7 out of 8 of Clinton's years in office.
Source:
US Census

3. Percent of People Below 50 Percent of Poverty Level (Two-Year Average) -

2001-2002: 4.95% (GWBush's 1st two years)
1993-1994: 6.05% (Clinton's 1st two years)
1993-2000: 5.31% (Average for Clinton's full eight years)

* The % of people living in deep poverty is lower after two years under GWBush than after two years under Bill Clinton - even lower than the average across Clinton's entire TWO terms of office... AND lower than ANY of Clinton's 1st six years in office.
Source:
US Census

4. Homeownership Rate -

GWBush's 1st three years:
4th Quarter 2000: 67.5% (before GWBush)
4th Quarter 2003: 68.6% (after 3 years of GWBush)
Difference: +1.1%

Bill Clinton's 1st three years:
4th Quarter 1992: 64.4% (before Clinton)
4th Quarter 1995: 65.1% (after 3 years of Clinton)
Difference: +0.7%

* The Homeownership Rate is higher under GWBush's 1st three years than under Bill Clinton's 1st three years.
* The Homeownership Rate grew MORE in the 1st three years with GWBush than in the 1st three years with Bill Clinton.
Source:
US Census

5. Inflation Rate -

GWBush's 1st three years:
Jan 2001: 3.73% (before GWBush)
Jan 2004: 1.93% (after 3 years of GWBush)
Difference: 1.8% Decrease

Bill Clinton's 1st three years:
Jan 1993: 3.26% (before Clinton)
Jan 1996: 2.73% (after 3 years of Clinton)
Difference: 0.53% Decrease

* The Inflation Rate is lower after three years of GWBush than it was after Bill Clinton's first three years.
* The Inflation Rate declined over three times greater under GWBush than under Bill Clinton.
Source:
InflationData.com

6. National Debt per American Citizen -

1940-1950: Increased at 11.2% annual rate. (WWII and reconstruction)
1990-2000: Increased at 1.6% annual rate. (no lengthy military conflicts)
2000-2004: Increased at 2.5% annual rate. (Afghanistan, Iraq, reconstruction and war on terror)

* The national debt per citizen is growing at a rate nearly equal to the "peace-time" rate of the 1990s.
Sources:
US Treasury
US Census
CPI-calculator

7. The Federal Deficit As A Percentage Of GDP -

Avg. Post-WWII (1946-2002): 1.6%
GWBush Budget (2002-2008): 1.8%

* As a % of The GDP, The Deficit Under GWBush Nearly Identical To The 58-Year, Post-WWII Average.
Sources:
American Farm Bureau Federation Analysis
Citing OMB Statistics



8. Employment Numbers (Total US Civilian labor force ) -

GWBush Starts, Jan 2001:
Employed: 135,999,000
Unemployed: 5,956,000
"discouraged": 303,000

3 Years Later, Feb 2004:
Employed: 138,301,000 (+2,302,000 more than 2001)
Unemployed: 8,170,000 (+2,214,000 more than 2001)
"discouraged": 484,000 (+184,000 more than 2001)

* Number of employed people increased by 88,000 more than the number of unemployed people under GWBush.
* Even factoring in those who're "discourged" and stopped looking for work, the increase in unemployed+discouraged was less than 100,000 more than the increase in employed.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics

9. Tax Burden, "Middle-Class Family" compared to "Rich Family"-

Taxes Owed by "Middle-Class Family", Head of Household, 2 kids, $35,000/yr Income:
Before Bush Tax Cut: $1,128
After Bush Tax Cut: $328
Net Change: $800 LESS taxes owed.

Taxes Owed by "Rich Family", Head of Household, 2 kids, $250,000/yr Income:
Before Bush Tax Cut: $65,879
After Bush Tax Cut: $61,963
Net Change: $3,916 LESS taxes owed.

* Effect of Bush's Tax Cut On "Rich Family": Tax Burden Reduced by 5.94%
* Effect of Bush's Tax Cut On "Middle-Class" Family: Tax Burden Reduced by 70.95%
Source:
Heritage Foundation

10. Earnings, Private Sector (all figures in 2004 dollars, CPI-adjusted) -

Average Hourly Earnings Under GWBush:
Jan. 2001: $14.79
Feb. 2004: $15.52 (+4.9% increase)
Average Hourly Earnings Under Clinton:
Jan. 1993: $14.29
Feb. 1996: $14.33 (+0.3% increase)

* +4.9% Increase In Avg Hourly Earnings Under GWBush's 1st Three Years.
* +0.3% Increase In Avg Hourly Earnings Under Clinton's 1st Three Years.

Average Weekly Earnings Under GWBush:
Jan. 2001: $507.27
Jan. 2004: $523.56 (+3.2% increase)
Average Weekly Earnings Under Clinton:
Jan. 1993: $493.35
Jan. 1996: $487.87 (-1.1% decrease)

* +3.2% Increase In Avg Weekly Earnings Under GWBush's 1st Three Years.
* -1.1% Decrease In Avg Weekly Earnings Under Clinton's 1st Three Years.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics

A Few More Tidbits

* "2004 Will Be the U.S.'s Best Year Economically in Last 20 Years" ~ The Conference Board's revised forecast, December 2003.
* Manufacturing is at 20-year record highs.
* GDP for the second-half of 2003 grew an incredible 6% and at 4.2% for the year all the while inflation was held under 2%
* Real private-sector GDP has expanded at a 5.3% annual rate since the Bush tax cuts were passed while in the prior six quarters private-sector GDP averaged only 2.5%.
* Foreign exports have been increasing and actually doubled through the second half of 2003.
* The net worth of all US households is $44.4 trillion, the highest level ever.
* The stock markets (i.e. your pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and college saving plans) have rebounded solidly and are approaching three-year highs. The stock markets are up 45% over the past year.

Economically, things are looking good and getting better.

 

[The_Macallan]

 
And all of this is in spite of the fact that GWBush inherited a recession from Clinton that officially started in March 2000 and ended in November 2001.

AND in spite of 9-11, which completely obliterated one the most important financial nerve centers in the nation and the lengthy squelching effect that it had on banking, insurance, the airlines, tourism, the markets and the rest of the economy including the job market.

AND in spite of waging two major overseas wars to overthrow two terrorist-supporting regimes.

AND in spite of completely revamping and reconstructing our national security and intelligence agencies to defend against constant domestic terrorist threats.

And yet we STILL have (as the numbers above show) after just three years of GWBush, a far BETTER economy than when he first took office.

But try telling that to a Democrat and you'll hear how GWBush "wrecked" the economy, caused a long and deep recession which ended with no jobs being created, threw 4 gabzillion people out of work, created a 10 trillion dollar deficit, gave tax breaks to the rich, stole from the poor, poisoned children, starved old folks, did nothing to fight terrorism and caused "the worst economy since Herbert Hoover". (psst... and whatever you do, don't mention "Carter", "malaise" or "stagflation" to them - that'll just make their heads implode)

---

It's Not Just A Gun...

It's My "HOMELAND DEFENSE RIFLE"!!

[LucyJo]

Thanks for compiling this great info into one neat and tidy little package! I'm printing it out and carrying it in my purse. (grin)

[scarface367]

There you go using facts again. Don't you know that liberals can't compete against this?

[AdamSelene235]

Homeownership rate is now higher than anytime in history.

Uh, no. The home indebtness rate is higher than anytime in history. American home debtors have less equity in their homes than any other time in recorded history.

5. Inflation rate fell more under GWBush than Clinton and is now lower after GWBush's 3rd year than Clinton's 3rd year.

What a joke.

[Reagan Man]

Nice presentation.

Bottomline. Bill Clinton didn't face half the challenges that PresBush has faced during his first term in office. Clinton climbed on the economic gravy train and road it to reelection. Bush has faced recession, national emergency and war. So far, a job well done. Bush deserves reelection.

[Tempest]

If enough stupid Democrats believe and repeat a lie. Then enough stupid Democrats in the media will continue to repeat it.

How much stupidity will this propogate? We'll find out in November.

[Tempest]

Uhmmm equity is part of ownership. Regardless of how much is vested it still represents ownership.

[The_Macallan]

AdamSelene235 wrote:
Homeownership rate is now higher than anytime in history.
Uh, no. The home indebtness rate is higher than anytime in history. American home debtors have less equity in their homes than any other time in recorded history.

5. Inflation rate fell more under GWBush than Clinton and is now lower after GWBush's 3rd year than Clinton's 3rd year.
What a joke.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Apparently facts are not your strong suit. LOL!

---

It's Not Just A Gun...

It's My "HOMELAND DEFENSE RIFLE"!!

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

This is a very important issue to address in-depth. I've talked with many people on the street around here. They all think we are doing terribly.

[Mel Gibson]

Outstanding post.

[lelio]

Employment Numbers (Total US Civilian labor force )

According to the BLS's site (pick the first series CES0000000001) the number of non-farm payroll jobs has decreased from 132.3M in 2001 to 130.1M.

That surprised me at first and so I went for another one, CES0500000001 "Total Private" and that went from 111.6M to 108.6M.

So now I'm desperately looking for a number that went up. And I did find one, series CES9000000001 "Total Government Employees" that went up from 20.8M in the year 2000 to 21.5.

[Jinjelsnaps]

There you go using facts again. Don't you know that liberals can't compete against this?

Amen - I mean, that "US Treasury" place is soooooooo a Bush propaganda machine...unless the Libs are citing it as a source...

Furthermore, if they can't compete against something it's not fair. Why, oh why won't someone feel their pain???

[Jinjelsnaps]

Care to list your sources?

And nice Lib response: "what a joke" - say, are you one of Kerry's speech writers??

[lelio]

Homeownership rate is now higher than anytime in history.

That wouldn't have anything to do with the lowest interest rates in 50 years would it? You should put up another stat about personal bankruptcy rates too.

[DoctorMichael]

Bookmark Bump.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Ahhhh...crap!!! Something else I have to memorize. I'm getting too old for this stuff.

It was easier way back when to just comment on the liberal mindset moral meanderings.

Oh...yeah...that didn't work all too well......did it.

Ok!! I'm studying....dammit!!!

[The_Macallan]

Take a look at "Professional and business services", "Education and Health Services" and "Leisure and Hosptility Services" and you'll see an increase of about 4 million employed in those fields from 2001-2004. That's a lot more than the 1 million-ish in gov't jobs.

[mtbopfuyn]

It's Bush's fault.

[Texas2step]

Take a look at "Professional and business services", "Education and Health Services" and "Leisure and Hosptility Services"

Oh, those aren't "real" jobs, don't ya know?

Actually, I'm one of those professional and business services that went from a corporate position that was downsized into owning and operating my own business. Thank you President Bush!

[BluSky]

Nice. Great layout of the facts.

I love 'bullet-ed' facts that hit the mark . . . dead-on.