Puterbac News Network and Political Discussion Thread

[puterbac]

Deficits decreased every year from 2003 to 2007. Doesn't a 160 billion deficit for the year sound nice?

Something happened in 2007. It was in all the papers. Rhymes with 'Great Recession'..

Actually it was 2008 wasn't it? Job losses didn't start until Feb 2008. From BLS.gov

[img2]http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/gra ... t_1mth.gif[/img2]

[puterbac]

Anyway I've posted the raw data straight from the IRS website.

Bottom line is revenues increased year over year when the tax cuts were fully put in place (2003 to 2007). The deficits were trending down each year and 2007 was down to 160 billion total for the year. Then lost tax revenue from lost jobs and tarp pushed it back up.

Bush tax cuts made the tax code MORE progressive not less. The top 50, 25, 10, 5, 2, 1 percent all pay a higher percentage of fed income taxes than before and the bottom 50 pay LESS.

[hedge]

[THE_WIZARD_]

TPM...now there is a reliable, unbiased source.

[hedge]

Job Growth Where Bush Didn’t Want It

By FLOYD NORRIS
Published: February 9, 2008

IT is not exactly a distinction that he had in mind, but seven years into his presidency, George W. Bush is in line to be the first president since World War II to preside over an economy in which federal government employment rose more rapidly than employment in the private sector.

That is not because federal government jobs have risen at an unusually rapid rate over the last seven years — although the increase did reverse a substantial decline under Mr. Bush’s most recent predecessor, Bill Clinton.

Instead, it is because job gains in the private sector were modest even after the economy recovered from the 2001 recession. In 2005, private sector employment rose 2 percent, the best annual growth rate during the Bush administration, but the rate fell to 1.4 percent in 2006 and 0.7 percent in 2007. In contrast, in six of the eight Clinton years growth was above 2 percent.

With the economy clearly slowing as the final year of Mr. Bush’s presidency begins, it is possible that the overall rate of growth in private sector employment for his presidency, now at 0.53 percent per year, could fall below the 0.41 percent rate of his father’s administration, which had been the lowest of any president since World War II.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/busin ... harts.html

[hedge]

It's hard to find a source that will satisfy anybody in here. 9:1 and all that....

[THE_WIZARD_]

True...but the left citing TPM would be like the right citing Glenn Beck...

[hedge]

I have no idea what TPM is, I just clicked on the first thing that came up on the google search...

[THE_WIZARD_]

Rat is more believable than TPM...

[hedge]

I assume there is some source that provides the actual numbers, although we must always beware of mathematics, since math is clearly a mind control ploy by 9:1...

[hedge]

This claims to have numbers collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on a monthly and annual basis, but how can we be sure they're not lying?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_creat ... tial_terms

[THE_WIZARD_]

I almost believed those numbers...until I saw the number for the Carter years.

[crashcourse]

"George W. Bush is in line to be the first president since World War II to preside over an economy in which federal government employment rose more rapidly than employment in the private sector."

VA and homeland security account for a lot of that i bet

[Jungle Rat]

I'm shocked that you would post an article that affirms Clinton as the most fiscally sound president of this generation.

This is where you usually post all those funny reasons you think he doesn't deserve ANY credit for his fiscal discipline or the excellent economy we enjoyed on his watch.

It would certainly help if anyone could ever explain what it was, exactly, that Clinton did to deserve the credit.

Seems him being President is all you need.

[Jungle Rat]

TPM...now there is a reliable, unbiased source.

A Mountain West football ref is a better source?

[THE_WIZARD_]

Yes.

[Dr. Strangelove]

LMAO at Romney demanding apologies and shrieking like a little girl over this Bain stuff. Starting to look unhinged.

[GBJs]

I assume there is some source that provides the actual numbers, although we must always beware of mathematics, since math is clearly a mind control ploy by 9:1...

Heh at hedge!

There are 3 kinds of liars:
1) Liar- piss poor at it and you can see right through them
2) Damn Liar- better at it and gets some by you. Mixes in facts with bull shit well
3) Statisticians

[GBJs]

"George W. Bush is in line to be the first president since World War II to preside over an economy in which federal government employment rose more rapidly than employment in the private sector."

VA and homeland security account for a lot of that i bet

If by VA you mean our armed forces, then hell yes.

[GBJs]

LMAO at Romney demanding apologies and shrieking like a little girl over this Bain stuff. Starting to look unhinged.

Romney has always looked unhinged. I think it's his angular face. Either way, he is not what this country needs and neither is Oshit.

For all that is decent, I suggest we all do a write in vote for GBJs. AA will be my Secretary of State. OpEd my SecDef. Hacks ass will be my secretary.