Remember the "economic bikini" if you want to simply illustrate who dug us a deep hole of job losses, and who is digging us out.
You absolutely have to read Ron Brownstein’s piece in this month’s National Journal magazine. The article is entitled “Repairing the Job Machine: More Jobs May Be Created This Year Than During George W. Bush’s Presidency.”
Here are some of the highlights. First, we have a little review of the “great” job growth under Pappy Bush’s idiot son.
“First, the numbers: From February 2001, Bush’s first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, total U.S. nonfarm employment grew from 132.5 million to 133.5 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s an increase, obviously, of just 1 million. From January through April of this year, the economy created 573,000 jobs. Over a full year, that projects to 1.72 million jobs. Job-creation numbers are notoriously volatile, so the actual result could run above or below that estimate. But Obama administration economists are increasingly optimistic that job growth this year will exceed expectations. Few of them will be surprised if more jobs are created in 2010 than over Bush’s two terms.”
Brownstein goes on to talk about who is truly responsible for the current job losses, and the possible political ramifications of increased job gains under Obama.
“Now the principal footnote: To compare job growth in 2010 with Bush’s record ignores the nearly 4 million jobs lost in Obama’s first year, during the freefall that began in Bush’s final months. That’s like ignoring a meteor strike. Over time, voters are likely to judge Obama by his degree of success in eliminating that deficit and reducing unemployment. Still, if the economy this year produces more than 1 million jobs — or, conceivably, more than 2 million — that will give Democrats more ammunition to argue that their agenda has started to turn the tide.”
Sounds like the Republican/wingnut cry of “where are the jobs?” might end up blowing up in their faces. Sweet! Brownstein then expands the comparison from just Bush versus Obama to a more sweeping analysis of post-World War II Democratic and Republican presidents.
“The real point of looking again at Bush’s record is to underscore how few jobs the economy was creating even before the 2008 collapse. Bush’s tally of 1 million jobs was much less than the economy had generated during any other two-term stretch since World War II: Dwight Eisenhower produced nearly 4 million, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (together) almost 16 million, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford (together) 11 million, Ronald Reagan 16 million, and Bill Clinton more than 22 million.”
What? You’re telling me that those no-good socialist Democrats (Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton) created more jobs than Republicans like Ike, Tricky Dick, Jerry, and the sainted Reagan (insert Republican organism here). How can that be? Don’t conservative Republican tax cuts alway create jobs, while those awful tax-raising liberal Democrats destroy them? Brownstein continues…
“In only eight of Bush’s 96 months did the economy create as many jobs as the 290,000 it did last month. Clinton exceeded that level 33 times. Reagan exceeded it 24. In all, the economy gained about 1.2 million jobs annually during the six years of recovery under Bush. It averaged about twice that during the expansion from March 1991 to February 2001.”
“This record suggests two conclusions. One is that there’s no evidence to support the argument from congressional Republicans that tax cuts offer a silver bullet for expanding employment. Job growth boomed after Reagan cut taxes, but expanded even faster after Clinton raised them, and then faltered despite two massive tax cuts under Bush. If tax rates are the critical factor in that record, the relationship is well disguised.”
Devastating. The entire Republican/wingnut economic philosophy comes crashing down like a house of cards, compliments of a few simple and succinct historical facts laid out by the good Mr. Brownstein.
I suggest you give this article to one of your teabagger friends. But remember to stand back…their heads are likely to explode.