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| Bush and the Economy |
ETWolverine |
10/31/03 |
The Democrats and Liberals have been calling Bush the worst president on the Economy since Herbert Hoover. (Dick Gephardt said it first, but every Democrat has agreed with it since then.) They have accused him of giving tax breaks that favor the rich. And they have argued that his 'reckless' tax cuts will bankrupt the country and create a deficit that our grandkids will be paying for. They call Bush's economic plan a disaster.
The US Commerce Department seems to disagree with them. Yesterday they reported that the economy grew a shocking 7.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2003. That is the largest single quarter growth since 1984.
Interestingly enough, the growth in 1984 and the growth in 3rd quarter 2003 were caused by the same thing... large tax cuts that put more cash back in hands of individuals and businesses, which in turn primed the economic pump, increasing the demand for goods and increasing the number of people employed to create those goods. 1984 was just 2 years after Reagan's historic tax cuts of 1982. 2003 is just 2 years after the Bush tax cuts of 2001. 2 years seems to be the magic number... it takes 2 years for the effect of tax cuts to be seen in the economy.
Bottom line, the economy is improving. Jobless claims are down, capital expenditure is up, and the demand for durable goods has increased. As the capital expenditures and durable goods expenditures continue, new jobs will be created. All because people had more money to spend. And this is because Bush infused about $29 Billion into the economy with his child tax credit increase ($400 per minor child x 72 million children = $28.8 billion). Similarly, by refunding $300 per family in 2001, he infused the economy with approximately $15 billion. So over 2 years, Bush put about $45 billion of spendable cash back into the hands of the people. Which has induced $45 billion worth of spending. Which will shortly result in $45 billion worth of job creation. Which will in turn result in even MORE spending by people who now have jobs that didn't before. Which will increase wealth all around. Which means that there will be more collected by the government in taxes. Which means that the "Bush deficit" will be wiped away.
Tax cuts work. They are not reckless. They stop recessions, and start growth.
I suggest we all stop calling Bush "the worst President on the economy since Hoover". That is clearly not the case. Hoover's economy contracted more than 25% during his presidency. The "Bush recession" lasted only 8 months (March to November 2001) and began only six weeks after he took office, which means that it was clearly not his fault in the first place. AND the recession ended only 2 months after 9-11. Since then, the economy has been stable through the 2nd quarter of 2003. And in the third quarter, a 7.2% growth rate, far exceeding even the most optimistic predictions. Even if growth drops to only 4% in the coming year, there will still be enough growth to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
Start giving Bush his due. The guy's a lot smarter than anyone (myself included) gave him credit for. Strong on military and security issues, and effective on economic issues.
Elliot |
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