The Bush Economic Record

[boedicca]

Yesterday, I went to a Cinco de Mayo party at which the majority of attendees were typical Bay Area liberals. I listed to several long whinging litanies about how we are in a depression, that our economy sucks, that we live in a dictatorship, yada yada yada.

I did enjoy the reaction when I informed the group that I voted for Bush and quoted a few of the facts listed below. The one closet Republican in the crowd revealed hereself, and we enjoyed playing counterpoint to the rest.

Anyone who thinks we shoud raise taxes now is nuts.

An IMF study reckoned that 9/11 cost the U.S. economy about $75 billion in lost GDP — not counting property losses of well over $100 billion. The U.S. also incurred future yearly costs of roughly 0.75% of GDP to pay for greater security, another big hit.

No question: The year 2001 marked a major break for the economy, with one of the largest hits ever to the wealth of Americans.

It could have been an epic disaster. But it wasn't. Bush did exactly the right thing — though he's still criticized for it today. To get the economy moving again, he pushed through tax cuts in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Some 113 million people got an average tax cut of $2,216. Families with children got even more — $2,864 on average.

Since the last round of cuts in 2003, we've had the quietest, and most significant, boom in wealth, income and profits in our history. This explains why the economy, to the surpise of economists and the chagrin of liberal pundits, keeps humming. We've gone over the numbers before, but they bear repeating. Since 2002:

• Real gross domestic product has soared $1.64 trillion, or 16.5%, during a five-year stretch that has yet to see a downturn and that has witnessed average annual growth of 3%.

• Disposable personal income — what's left after taxes — has jumped $2.16 trillion, or 29%, to $9.68 trillion.

• Productivity, the fuel for future standards of living, has improved 14.3%.

• Overall employee compensation has expanded 4% a year.

• Net wealth, the amount people would have after paying off their debts, has swelled $15.2 trillion, or 38%, to $55.6 trillion. That gain in just five years is more than the total wealth amassed in the first 210 years of America's existence — an unprecedented surge.

• About 69% of Americans now own their homes, an all-time high.

• The jobless rate, now at 4.4%, remains below its 40-year average. Since August 2003, 7.8 million new jobs have been created.

• Tax receipts have surged 43%, or $757.6 billion, again thanks to economic growth.

Today, some signs point to slowing. All the more reason to keep Bush's tax cuts, the engine of our prosperity. But the new Democrat-led Congress has threatened not just to roll back Bush's cuts, but to impose new taxes that would sink the economy.

A recent study by economists Tracy Foertsch and Ralph Rector for the Heritage Foundation found that letting Bush's tax cuts lapse in 2010, as they are scheduled to do, would cost the U.S. $75 billion in GDP each year, kill 709,000 jobs and slice $200 billion from real personal income. It'd be a crime to let that happen.

George W. Bush's economic miracle is both real and sustainable. Too bad he won't get credit for it until the current generation of biased journalists and academics has retired.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=263171464758919

 

[Psychoblues]

Could you tell me more about the "one closet rEpublican" and all of your counterpoints?

Yesterday, I went to a Cinco de Mayo party at which the majority of attendees were typical Bay Area liberals. I listed to several long whinging litanies about how we are in a depression, that our economy sucks, that we live in a dictatorship, yada yada yada.

I did enjoy the reaction when I informed the group that I voted for Bush and quoted a few of the facts listed below. The one closet Republican in the crowd revealed hereself, and we enjoyed playing counterpoint to the rest.

Anyone who thinks we shoud raise taxes now is nuts.

An IMF study reckoned that 9/11 cost the U.S. economy about $75 billion in lost GDP — not counting property losses of well over $100 billion. The U.S. also incurred future yearly costs of roughly 0.75% of GDP to pay for greater security, another big hit.

No question: The year 2001 marked a major break for the economy, with one of the largest hits ever to the wealth of Americans.

It could have been an epic disaster. But it wasn't. Bush did exactly the right thing — though he's still criticized for it today. To get the economy moving again, he pushed through tax cuts in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Some 113 million people got an average tax cut of $2,216. Families with children got even more — $2,864 on average.

Since the last round of cuts in 2003, we've had the quietest, and most significant, boom in wealth, income and profits in our history. This explains why the economy, to the surpise of economists and the chagrin of liberal pundits, keeps humming. We've gone over the numbers before, but they bear repeating. Since 2002:

• Real gross domestic product has soared $1.64 trillion, or 16.5%, during a five-year stretch that has yet to see a downturn and that has witnessed average annual growth of 3%.

• Disposable personal income — what's left after taxes — has jumped $2.16 trillion, or 29%, to $9.68 trillion.

• Productivity, the fuel for future standards of living, has improved 14.3%.

• Overall employee compensation has expanded 4% a year.

• Net wealth, the amount people would have after paying off their debts, has swelled $15.2 trillion, or 38%, to $55.6 trillion. That gain in just five years is more than the total wealth amassed in the first 210 years of America's existence — an unprecedented surge.

• About 69% of Americans now own their homes, an all-time high.

• The jobless rate, now at 4.4%, remains below its 40-year average. Since August 2003, 7.8 million new jobs have been created.

• Tax receipts have surged 43%, or $757.6 billion, again thanks to economic growth.

Today, some signs point to slowing. All the more reason to keep Bush's tax cuts, the engine of our prosperity. But the new Democrat-led Congress has threatened not just to roll back Bush's cuts, but to impose new taxes that would sink the economy.

A recent study by economists Tracy Foertsch and Ralph Rector for the Heritage Foundation found that letting Bush's tax cuts lapse in 2010, as they are scheduled to do, would cost the U.S. $75 billion in GDP each year, kill 709,000 jobs and slice $200 billion from real personal income. It'd be a crime to let that happen.

George W. Bush's economic miracle is both real and sustainable. Too bad he won't get credit for it until the current generation of biased journalists and academics has retired.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=263171464758919

That is without all your talking points as prescribed by whomever gave them to you. You obviously care but just what do you care about?

 

[red states rule]

April surplus rises to $177.7 billion

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:17 PM ET May 10, 2007


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Strong growth in tax receipts pushed the federal budget surplus to $177.7 billion in April, the Treasury Department said Thursday.
It is the second highest monthly surplus on record, with April 2001 still holding the record at nearly $190 billion.
The surplus is slightly higher than the $176 billion forecast by the Congressional Budget Office last week. It is much higher than the $118.8 billion surplus recorded in April 2006.
For the fiscal year so far, the deficit is $80.8 billion, down more than 50% from the $184.1 billion deficit at this time last year.
April is the strongest month for tax revenue as federal income taxes are due.
The CBO said the deficit for the fiscal year, which ends in September, would likely be between $150 and $200 billion. The deficit was $248 billion last year.
In January, the White House had forecast a $239 billion deficit for the fiscal year.
In April, receipts were up 21.8% year-over-year to $383.6 billion. Outlays rose 5% to $206 billion.
For the first seven months of the year, receipts are up 11.2% to $1.50 trillion. Individual tax receipts are up 17.3% to $705 billion, while corporate tax receipts rose 15.2% to $200 billion. Outlays are up 3.2% over the same period.
Interest on the federal debt totaled $25.7 billion in April and is up $227.7 billion so far this fiscal year.
Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={1838A580-BB97-43FA-B9DC-96736E5494BB}

 

[maineman]

thye federal budget may have a surplus, but only because the war in Iraq is off budget.

 

[maineman]

that is sort of similar to saying, "My family's budget is balanced...if you don't count my secret gambling debts and my cocaine habit"

 

[Bern80]

thye federal budget may have a surplus, but only because the war in Iraq is off budget.

the federal budget was not the point of the figures posted. The overall changeing of the economy is.

Sort of like, "I don't want to have to say that's a good thing, so I'll just change the subject."

 

[maineman]

the federal budget was not the point of the figures posted. The overall changeing of the economy is.

Sort of like, "I don't want to have to say that's a good thing, so I'll just change the subject."

RSR's post crows about the budget surplus. I only point out that talking about a budget surplus when we have a trillion dollars swirling down the shitter in Iraq OFF BUDGET is pretty fucking ridiculous.

 

[red states rule]

RSR's post crows about the budget surplus. I only point out that talking about a budget surplus when we have a trillion dollars swirling down the shitter in Iraq OFF BUDGET is pretty fucking ridiculous.

and Dems want to fuck everything up with a $400 billion tax increase

 

[red states rule]

that is sort of similar to saying, "My family's budget is balanced...if you don't count my secret gambling debts and my cocaine habit"

Revenue Collections Hit Record in April

May 10 02:35 PM US/Eastern
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal revenue collections hit an all-time high in April, contributing to a further improvement in the budget deficit for the year.
Releasing its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Thursday that through the first seven months of this budget year, the deficit totals $80.8 billion, significantly below the $184.1 billion imbalance run up during the first seven months of the 2006 budget year.

So far this year, tax revenues total $1.505 trillion, an increase of 11.2 percent over the same period last year. That figure includes $383.6 billion collected in April, the largest monthly tax collection on record.

Tax collections swell in April every year as individuals file their tax returns by the deadline.

For the first seven months of this budget year, which began Oct. 1, revenue collections and government spending are at all-time highs.

However, the spending total of $1.585 billion was up at a slower pace of 3.2 percent from the previous year.

The difference in the growth of tax collections and spending is the reason for the narrowing deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office said that it now expects the deficit for all of 2007 to total between $150 billion and $200 billion. That would be a significant improvement from last year's deficit of $248.2 billion, which had been the lowest imbalance in four years.

The federal budget was in surplus for four years from 1998 through 2001 as the long economic expansion helped push revenues higher. But the 2001 recession, the cost of fighting a global war on terror and the loss of revenue from President Bush's tax cuts sent the budget back into the red starting in 2002.

The administration's budget sent to Congress in February projects that the deficit will be eliminated by 2012 even if the president achieves his goal of getting his tax cuts made permanent. They are now due to expire in 2010.

However, critics say the improvement in the deficits will be only temporary with deficits expected to balloon again with the higher Social Security and Medicare payments needed as 78 million baby boomers retire.

While Bush sought to make entitlement reform the centerpiece of his domestic agenda in a second term, his proposals to bolster Social Security with personal savings accounts has gone nowhere in Congress.

For April, revenue receipts totaled $383.64 billion while spending totaled $205.97 billion, leaving a surplus for the month of $177.7 billion.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8P1MC7O2&show_article=1

 

[maineman]

the revenue collection increase does not pay for the war, and the war is not reflected in the budget.

 

[red states rule]

the revenue collection increase does not pay for the war, and the war is not reflected in the budget.

It shocks libs how revenues INCREASE due to tax CUTS

 

[maineman]

It shocks libs how revenues INCREASE due to tax CUTS

that is not what I am talking about...I said, that touting increased revenues when we are actually hemmorhaging red ink due to the off budget war effort was pretty silly.

 

[maineman]

this is my point. can you address it?

that is sort of similar to saying, "My family's budget is balanced...if you don't count my secret gambling debts and my cocaine habit"

 

[red states rule]

that is not what I am talking about...I said, that touting increased revenues when we are actually hemmorhaging red ink due to the off budget war effort was pretty silly.

Even with high gas prices, and a war on two fronts - the US economy is growing.

Income to the government is at record highs (like the Dow) and libs are shocked to see once again, how tax cuts are good for everyone

 

[maineman]

Even with high gas prices, and a war on two fronts - the US economy is growing.

Income to the government is at record highs (like the Dow) and libs are shocked to see once again, how tax cuts are good for everyone

income is at record highs, but the cost of the war is off budget and, in fact, the revenues to the coffers do not cover the cost of it.

 

[red states rule]

income is at record highs, but the cost of the war is off budget and, in fact, the revenues to the coffers do not cover the cost of it.

If the budget does balance next year, as projected - many Bush haters will have to be put on suicide watch

 

[maineman]

If the budget does balance next year, as projected - many Bush haters will have to be put on suicide watch

do you or do you not understand that the cost of the war is not included in the BUDGET?

 

[red states rule]

do you or do you not understand that the cost of the war is not included in the BUDGET?

Do you understand how well the US economy is doing with tax CUTS?

 

[maineman]

Do you understand how well the US economy is doing with tax CUTS?

Like I said... .saying that the economy is doing well while ignoring the unbudgeted cost of the war is like saying that my household budget is in balance - as long as you don't look at my secret gambling debts or my cocaine habit.

 

[red states rule]

Like I said... .saying that the economy is doing well while ignoring the unbudgeted cost of the war is like saying that my household budget is in balance - as long as you don't look at my secret gambling debts or my cocaine habit.

Careful - Dems are saying the economy stinks

Reagan proved tax cuts work and now Pres Bush is doing it again