This was so good I just had to clip it (the ThinkProgress url is here but I've noticed content has a strange way of shifting and drifting and disappearing, so I wanted to keep this gem preserved). Anyone who continues to believe that Democratic presidents are terrible for the economy and Republican ones are wonderful should really look at the actual track record more closely. I have done my best to puncture this myth, but it persists. Simply because someone tells you he is a great businessman doesn't mean he is (forgive the gender-specific pronouns, but most Republicans guilty of this self-promotion in the absence of data are men). Properly, there should be a 6 month lag between changes in fiscal or monetary policy (the things the president indirectly controls) and changes in economic indicators such as unemployment rates, so in reality, President Bush left Obama a legacy of 10% unemployment, not 8.5% which was the headline number the month prior to Obama taking office (and the one that was released on his watch although it reflected data and policies of his predecessor). This is not to play the "blame game" as the Republicans seem to love to do, blaming the new guy for not being able to drive the car out of the ditch even though they are the ones who had the brilliant idea of taking a shortcut through the swamp in the first place, but to look coldly and squarely at what set of policies actually work. You can't do that if you use judge President Obama based on Bush's numbers.
So here is this pearl of a summary from ThinkProgress.org:
- source: ThinkProgress.org, Jan 6, 2012, at 5:05 pm.
So here is this pearl of a summary from ThinkProgress.org:
 * |
Jobs, Jobs, JobsJobs, By the Numbers2…the number of years of consecutive employment growth in manufacturing, after not one single year of growth between 1997 and 2010. 8.5 percent…the unemployment rate, the lowest since February 2009 just after President Obama took office. 22…the number of consecutive months of private sector job growth. 12,000…the number of public sector jobs lost in December of 2011 alone. 212,000…the number of private sector jobs created in December of 2011 alone. 280,000…the number of public sector jobs lost in 2011. 315,000…the number of health care jobs created in 2011. 673,000…the number of private sector jobs lost during the entirety of the eight-year Bush presidency. 1,080,000…the number of net jobs created during the entirety of the eight-year Bush presidency. 1,600,000…the net number of jobs created during 2011, after accounting for job losses in the public sector. 1,900,000…the number of private sector jobs created during 2011.    IN TWO SENTENCES: In either of the past two years alone, President Obama created more private sector jobs than President Bush did during the entirety of his eight-year presidency. While today’s jobs numbers are a promising sign, it’s no time to get complacent when 14 MILLION Americans are still out of work. Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have MissedHow Mitt Romney’s firm drove a steel plant into bankruptcy, but still profited thanks to a federal bailout. Santorum tells the mother of a cancer survivor that people with pre-existing conditions should pay more for health insurance. Rick Santorum used to have a centrist record on education, and now he’s running away from it as fast as possible. Those much-sought-after New Hampshire independents, says one expert, are “really not a bloc of voters.” Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness Today, Commerce Secretary John Bryson held an event at the Center for American Progress to release a comprehensive report, “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.” In conjunction, CAP’s Jennifer Erickson put together a top 10 list of government investments in 20th century American competitiveness:
|
THINKPROGRESS | Center for American Progress Action Fund 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20005 |
- source: ThinkProgress.org, Jan 6, 2012, at 5:05 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment