Over the last 35 years Democrats have been in charge for 15
years Republicans for 20. As Vice President Biden once said, “Past is
prologue.” What then does the economic record of the last 35 years tell us
about the future? A lot to anyone paying attention.
Reagan inherited stellar monthly job creation from
President Carter of 218,000 per month. His economic and tax policies caused the
Reagan Recession of 1982, then the 2nd greatest economic implosion in history.
By the end of his 1st term Reagan had cut Carter's job creation number by more
than half. The deficit exploded under Reagan and the debt tripled. His stacking
of the labor relations boards devastated organized labor, a setback they have
never recovered from. When he left office his average monthly job creation
numbers were a mere 167,000, nearly 51,000 less per month than President
Carter.
Reagan turned the reigns over to George H.W. Bush who
rightly raised taxes that Reagan had cut to head off the stunning rise in the
deficit and rapidly expanding national debt. But the damage done by Trickle
Down was so great it only marginally reduced the ballooning debt. Bush I's
policies created yet another recession and produced the lowest job creation
numbers since Herbert Hoover.
Wild Bill took over, aggressively overturned much of
Reagan's tax give-a-ways to the rich. Wild Bill balanced 5 budgets, which is 5
times as many balanced budgets as the prior 5 Republican Presidents combined.
Clinton produced the greatest job creation numbers in recorded history, the
greatest expansion in the stock market in recorded history, and the greatest
increase in wealth in recorded human history. No recessions occurred under
Clinton. His economic and tax policies produced the biggest surplus' in
recorded history, $287 billion
George W. Bush, losing the popular vote by 597,897, was selected president by a partisan Republican Supreme Court. W re-installed Reagan's tax give-a-ways to the rich and by August of 2001 had taken the greatest surplus in history and driven us into the red. He embarked on the worst foreign policy blunder in history, the war of choice in Iraq, costing an estimated $6 trillion in spending, 4500 American dead and 10's of thousands of severely wounded soldiers. The occupation was perhaps one of the most stunning examples of ineptitude and abject failure in US history. His tax policies produced the greatest deficits in recorded history, $1.4 trillion in fiscal tear 2008-2009, and gave us The Great Recession, the 2nd greatest economic implosion in US history. His job creation numbers were the second lowest in history, 2nd only to Herbert Hoover (R). Bush has the dubious honor of having presided over 2 recessions a club exclusive to Republican presidents.
President Obama inherited an economy in free fall. Record
deficits, record job losses and a culture of crony capitalism from his
Republican predecessor. Obama saved the auto industry, which touches one of
every 10 jobs in the US. He reversed the record job losses producing the
greatest turn-a-round in that metric ever recorded. He cut the $1.4 trillion
deficit by 2/3's an amount in raw numbers greater than every other president
-combined.- His economic policies have produced the greatest increase in raw
numbers of the DOW in recorded history, and in percentages second only to Wild
Bill. His even hand and unblemished character and integrity have produced one of the
most scandal free administrations in history. Compare that to the culture of
corruption of George W. Bush or the 137 members of the Reagan administration
that were under investigation, indictment and/or convicted of crimes.
And President Obama accomplished all this without a shred
of co-operation, and in the bitter face of historic unprecedented Republican
obstructionism.
One party has produced an 80 year record of unmatched
economic success. The other a record of unmatched FUBAR, failure and foul-up.
In 2016 we can choose to bet on the winning, undefeated horse or choose the
sway backed, three legged pregnant nag that has never won a race. Choose
wisely my friends.
