The Republicans have now boiled down their debate points for extending tax breaks to the uber wealthy to this:
INTERVIEWER: But, Your Excellency, the Bush tax cuts have been in place for 10 years and they have not produced jobs. They are also directly responsible for the deficit. So why should we extend them?
REPUBLICAN: We cannot raise taxes in a recession!
Of course, if the economy were in great shape, the GOP answer would be:
REPUBLICAN: We cannot raise taxes when the economy is booming!!
And I’m just kidding about the interviewer’s question. The news-show hosts rarely if ever confront Republicans about the simple, empirically knowable, no-two-sides-to-it fact that these wealthy Americans, whom Republicans euphemistically refer to as “small business owners” — the Paris Hiltons, Koch brothers, Meg Whitmans, Donald Trumps and, strangely enough, George Soroses of the world — having enjoyed the luxury of the Bush tax cuts for 10 years, did not create jobs with their “extra” money.
It is an equally knowable, non-debatable fact available to straight-down-the-line, fair-to-both-sides journalists that during the Bush era the rich got much richer:
The average tax rate paid by the richest 400 Americans fell by a third to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the Bush administration, and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new data show. The 17.2 percent in 2006 was the lowest since the Internal Revenue Service began tracking the 400 largest taxpayers in 1992, although they paid more tax on an inflation-adjusted basis than for any year since 2000.
…And yet they utterly failed to create jobs.
Worse — the Bush tax cuts are for the wealthy are directly responsible for the debt/deficit crisis we’re facing today:
The “Bush tax cuts,” passed in 2001 and 2003, remain the single largest cause of America’s structural deficit — that is, the deficit not caused by the collapse in tax revenue when the economy goes into recession. The Bush administration inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton administration. What turned these into deficits, even before the recession? There were three fundamental new costs: the tax cuts, the Medicare prescription-drug bill and post-9/11 security spending (including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). Of these the tax cuts were by far the largest, adding up to $2.3 trillion over 10 years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly half the cost of all legislation enacted from 2001 to 2007 can be attributed to the tax cuts.
The Republicans’ pursuit of these failed policies is also not popular — notice how they’re not bothering to claim that they’re following the “will of the people” here.
That’s because the polls are against them. For example, a new CBS News poll found that only the Republican tea-bagger base — the same 26 percent who salute whatever the GOP runs up a flag pole — are in favor of extending the Bush tax benefit for the extremely wealthy. Only 46 percent of Republicans favor extending the cuts for the wealthy.
Sure, I’m just a bomb-thrower from the un-professional left editing a “kook” site — but you don’t have to take my word for it that the Bush tax policies failed at creating jobs. Here’s how one of Rupert Murdoch’s Republican Party in-house newspapers, the Wall St. Journal, described Bush’s abysmal job-creation record, in a story titled, “Bush on Jobs: The Worst Track Record on Record,” in January 2009:
President George W. Bush entered office in 2001 just as a recession was starting, and is preparing to leave in the middle of a long one. That’s almost 22 months of recession during his 96 months in office.
His job-creation record won’t look much better. The Bush administration created about three million jobs (net) over its eight years, a fraction of the 23 million jobs created under President Bill Clinton’s administration and only slightly better than President George H.W. Bush did in his four years in office.
(See chart below.)
Here’s an easy prediction: Because we know, based on the data, the record and the news of the day that the Bush tax cuts failed to create jobs at the same time they blew a hole in the federal budget, it is a dead certainty that they will continue to fail to create jobs and continue to blow a hole in the budget as long as they remain in place.
The facts and the polls are against them. So what would motivate Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker-Elect John Boehner to deliberately cause the recovery to stall?
During the midterms, McConnell repeatedly stated his party’s goal for the next two years. “The single most important thing we want to achieve,” McConnell said, “is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” Other times he described undercutting the president as the Republicans’ “top priority.”
Could it be any clearer? The Republicans’ objective is not “jobs, jobs, jobs.” It is, literally, “fail, fail, fail.”
Presidential Job Creation Chart
This chart from the Wall St. Journal shows job creation under each president since the Labor Department started keeping payroll records in 1939:
The counts are based on total payrolls between the start of the month the president took office (using the final payroll count for the end of the prior December) and his final December in office.
Because the size of the economy and labor force varies, we also calculate in percentage terms how much the total payroll count expanded under each president. The current President Bush, once taking account how long he’s been in office, shows the worst track record for job creation since the government began keeping records.
| President | Jobs created | Jobs at end of term | Jobs at start of term | Payroll expansion | Jobs created per year in office | Population growth | Percent change in population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George W. Bush | 3.0 million | 135.5 million | 132.5 million | 2.3% | 375,000 | 22.0 million | 7.7% |
| Bill Clinton | 23.1 million | 132.5 million | 109.4 million | 21.1% | 2,900,000 | 25.2 million | 8.9% |
| George H.W. Bush | 2.5 million | 109.4 million | 106.9 million | 2.3% | 625,000 | 12.5 million | 4.8% |
| Ronald Reagan | 16.0 million | 106.9 million | 90.9 million | 17.6% | 2,000,000 | 17.3 million | 7% |
| Jimmy Carter | 10.5 million | 90.9 million | 80.4 million | 13.1% | 2,600,000 | 9.8 million | 4.3% |
| Gerald Ford | 1.8 million | 80.4 million | 78.6 million | 2.3% | 745,000 | 5.1 million | 2.3% |
| Richard Nixon | 9.4 million | 78.6 million | 69.2 million | 13.6% | 1,700,000 | 12.3 million | 5.7% |
| Lyndon Johnson | 11.9 million | 69.2 million | 57.3 million | 20.8% | 2,300,000 | 11.3 million | 5.6% |
| John F. Kennedy | 3.6 million | 57.3 million | 53.7 million | 6.7% | 1,200,000 | 8.2 million | 4.3% |
| Dwight Eisenhower | 3.5 million | 53.7 million | 50.2 million | 7% | 438,000 | 23.3 million | 12.8% |
| Harry Truman | 8.4 million | 50.2 million | 41.8 million | 20.1% | 1,100,000 | N/A | N/A |
Note: We ran this chart with a story on jobs in October.
FACT CHECKS
Since 1980
1% got 281% increase in income
middle class got 25% or less than inflation
1% owned 20% total financial wealth
1^% got 10% total individual income
2009–
1% own 43% total financial wealth
1% get 24 % total individual income
1980 to 2009– a shameful record
JOBS–3 R presidents got 99,000 net new jobs per month
enough to cover new entries
Carter + Clinton got 222,000.
DEBT–The big 3 borrowed 9000B in their 20 years of Spend + Borrow Let Kids Pay Tomorrow
That is they took a 1000 Debt, after 200 years, and added 9000 in 20 years.
SPENDING–They took a 600B budget, after 200 years, and in 20 years took it to 3600B (less wjc itsy bitsy).
GOVERNANCE
WARS–they got us involved in 8 international conflicts killing millions
INEQUALITY–They let Investment Houses owned by wealthiest take over 80% of our commercial banks. Rich get richer hi interest rates.
They freed gamblers by De-regulating Derivatives to from new Casino Derivative Of America. Rich rushed to gaming tables to bet on events. Instead of investing in business stocks to create expansions and jobs.
That cut Velocity of Money the Lifeblood of our economy.
Dow today is less than its hi in 2000.Ten years later.
The rich got ultra rich by Bush borrowing 2500B from Chinese to put into their tax cut pockets instead of into our treasury to help pay our bills.
The Rich got richer by Reagan 750B Tax Cut
He borrowed 1700B from Chinese(and social security).
10 Billionaires in 1980 and 51 in 1989.
Thanks to Ron ability to borrow and enrich them.
His Tax Cuts paid their way! Ho hum
He cut 750B–He got 201B from Payroll Tax Increase–50B from his Gas Tax and 140B from Income Tax revenue increase.
140 does not pay for 750.
It is sad for truth when Stephen Moore, then of Cato, wrote an article how RR tax cuts paid their way. Total deception.
I read that article repeated as fact in WSA Editorial under patho liar Bartley–Investors Business Daily rt wing junker–Washington Times–Weekly Standard– and Freedom Newspaper chain.
DEBT–Bush borrowed more in 8 than we had after 225 years.
5700 to 11900. R will deceive you. Use 1-21-09 as Bush end.
No No His last budget ended 9-30-09.
Obama added about 100B to that debt. So Bush number was 11,800B
9-30-01 Clinton last budget ending it was 5700B
11,800 less 5700=6100B touche’ dumbo R
Two horrid wars created hatred around the world for us.
That is hatred by youths which will exist for many years.
Americans did not witness the horrors in iraq. Pentagon did not allow it shown here. Middle East and Asia saw much of it.
Sickening. Americans would have been horrified beyond belief.
I saw pics in foreign papers. Rape. Robbery. Slaughter of innocents (unarmed).Yes! We did it. Had it been another nation we would be calling them Barbarians, Evil, Devils.
Bush 8 will go into history as worst Decade in our history
olduglymeanhonest mad mad mad
NOTE: THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE 8 YEARS OF BUSH II AND NEO-CON DISASTERS –IMAGINE THAT HORRID LIST
HOW TO IDENTIFY A CONSERVATIVE
Love to Spend & Borrow
Hate to pay your way
Praise two presidents who, over 12 years, had an average GDP growth of 2.6%.
Love gutless Marine and Admiral who pled the Fifth to avoid conviction for crimes.
Love 137 who were charged with crimes over 8 years of plunder the treasury.
—————–YOU ARE A CONSERVATIVE IF YOU CLAIM THESE————
# 1–Debt Creation—equivalent of 600 years worth in 12 years.
# 1–Deficit Creation—400 years worth in 8 years
# 1–Lowest GDP Growth, over a 12 years period, since WWII.
# 1–In number of times (258) a President and Admiral testified under oath “I don’t remember”.
# 1–Bank Failures—President smiling and chanting “No Pain –No Gain”.
# 1–Personal Bankruptcies -President smiling and chanting “No Pain-No Gain”
# 1–Business Bankruptcies-President smiling and chanting “No Pain-No Gain”
# 1–Farm Foreclosures
# 1–Looting of S & Ls after a President said –“Folks, I think we just hit the jackpot.” The Vaults are unguarded come and get it. They did. 140 Billion charge to taxpayers.
# 1–Total bankruptcies
# 1–Stagnating median incomes
# 1–60% Tax Cut to Rich
# 1–In having a President with Alzheimer’s. No pain-No gain.
# 1–In having a President who was Produced-Directed-and Protected like a Grade B actor in a Role.
# 1–In having a President who lied, over and over, about his wife’s age. Who cared?
# 1–In having the first President to have had a Shotgun Wedding.
# 1—In having a President who shacked up with love of his life while his wife was in the hospital delivering their child.
# 1–To have a President who lied about having a close-knit family.
# 1–To have a President guided in his decisions by the Stars
# 1–In having a President who preached religious values but never had membership in a church and rarely attended worship services and was never known to pray
# 1–In having a President who called a lying, stealing, wife abusing psychotic Marine a “Hero” then a “Liar”.
# 1–In having a President who rarely used the word “ethics” during 16 years in Government.
# 1–In losing 241 Marines from a stupid decision to shell civilian villages.
# 1–In claiming a “Great Victory” after an attack on a small Island with 88,000 inhabitants armed with .22 rifles and pea shooters.
# 1–In claiming as a “Great Victory” and proclaiming “we have finally killed the Vietnam Syndrome” and “America Stands Tall Again”. What would he have said had we conquered Haw River N C. Greatest victory since WWII?
# 1–In pushing a “disinformation campaign” against a very small nation then bombing that nation which resulted in a revenge bombing of Pan Am 103 killing 270 Civilians.
Then, bragging how he had “defeated Terrorism”. Till Bush resurrected it.
# 1–In shooting down an airliner and killing 290 civilians. OOPS! Goof. Sorry Iran.
# 1–In having a 20% Prime Interest Rate smiling and proclaiming “No Pain-No Gain”.
# 1–In having the highest “real” Interest Rates since WWII.
# 1–In having 15% Home Loan Interest Rates and smiling-No Pain-No Gain.
# 1–in having 16% college loan interest rate
# 1–In killing the Home Construction Business by allowing Raids on S & L’s to use money for golf course, resorts, business building etc. where in the past the primary purpose was to build homes in local communities.
# 1–In having 10.8 % unemployment while smiling. No Pain-No Gain. Highest rate since great depression.
# 1–In having a recession in one-third of twelve years.
# 1—In scandals. Every Major Scandal in 20th Century was on a Republican Administration unless you want to call ML major.
———————-YOU ARE A GREAT CONSERVATIVE IF———-
You don’t like children (screw them they don’t vote)
You don’t like the poor (screw them they don’t vote)
You don’t like the elderly (screw them they are unproductive and wasteful)
You don’t like the infirmed elderly (screw then they don’t vote)
You don’t like students ( keep them stupid so they will vote Republican)
You hate unions
You don’t like minorities ( screw them not enough vote)
You don’t like legal immigrants ( screw them they don’t vote)
You love profiteering from public service
You love the very wealthy and cannot do enough for them
You worship big business
You love to tear down years of Progress and smile as you slash and burn yelling “No Pain-No gain”.
You love, with a passion, the opportunity to transfer wealth from hard working middle class to those who will never spend their wealth but just keep yelling ”More-More-More-give us more and we will never be satisfied until we are like Haiti where 5% own 95 % of the wealth.
You love to use the whip of punishment instead of the effort to change and save from sin.
You love the threat of War which allows you the opportunity to send more wealth to big corporations and the rich
67% poll to Torture—Great Christians?
You like, admire, and almost worship that which 75% of Americans detest as mean and cruel–Your God-Newtnut
You love all types of killing guns
You love executions
You love to steal elections
You were against WWII Draft
You hate Medicare (but love to use it)
You hate Social Security (but love to get it)
You hate Medicaid
You love world’s largest rich man’s gambling casino-Wall Street
You love to kill Mommie’s by denying abortion that will save her life
Want a Deep Recession then take a chance with Republicans in total control for their history is that—ALL depressions—all “significant” recessions have been under a Republican Administration in the Twentieth Century.
Addendeum10-08-O9
20 years of Conservatism—Reagan-Bush I-Bush II and we have been in a Recession in 7 of 20 years or in 35 percent of the years.
—unbiased, impartial, objective political historian–