Factual talking points on the economy (UPDATED)
Last edited Sun Aug 19, 2012, 05:17 AM - Edit history (1)
Remind those who are nervous about debt that Bush started with a $128 billion SURPLUS & ended with a $1.4 trillion DEFICIT. Obama was handed that kind of spending right during the worst GLOBAL economic collapse in 100 years.
* $600 billion in deficit reduction since Bush's last budget.
* Lowest spending increases since Eisenhower.
* 30 months of private sector job growth, including small businesses.
* Record corporate profits & Wall Street values.
* More millionaires and billionaires every year.
* Lowest real tax rates on the rich since 1928.
* 21 new tax cuts for middle-class families.
* 18 new tax cuts for small businesses.
* First growth in manufacturing sectors in 30 years.
* Americans #1 in worker productivity.
* Household debt reduced by half-a-trillion.
* Gas prices peaked at $4.12 under Bush.
And:
* Obama has proposed $4 trillion in additional debt reduction, but the GOP have blocked him.
* Republicans partisanship in Congress is the primary reason for the downgrade of USA's credit rating.
* Romney has said military spending is off-limits for cutting ($683.7 billion in 2010)
But there's a 8% unemployment rate still, right? That's in large part due to the 700,000 government jobs that have been cut, including States cutting 230,000 teachers and 130,000 police/emergency responders.
The overall argument we need to make: The GOP are peddling the wrong kind of (failed) capitalism.
It's time to divest from Wall Street and the finance markets. It's time America return to Main Street and manufacturing.
PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT SINCE 2008
BUSH DEFICIT VS OBAMA DEFICIT
SLOWEST SPENDING SINCE EISENHOWER
SOURCES:
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-22/commentary/31802270_1_spending-federal-budget-drunken-sailor
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-26/small-business-job-creation-is-stronger-than-we-think
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/86-of-top-100-markets-add.html
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CP
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/09/02/public-sector-losses-continue-to-drive-poor-jobs-numbers
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/14/news/economy/recovery_act_jobs/index.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-admin.4.18853088.html
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-11-06/federal-borrowing-rises-sharply/51097800/1
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/jobs/posts/2012/08/03-jobs-greenstone-looney
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/06/ray-of-light-u-s-corporate-worker-productivity-continues-to-r/
http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2011/11/06/federal-borrowing-up-household-debt-shrinks/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-admin.4.18853088.html
http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/b3c8228599526db24002f4a6d38369c1/publication/490/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/14/executive-pay-increase-america-ceos
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/12/10/number-of-the-week-finances-share-of-economy-continues-to-grow/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/super-rich-offshore-havens_n_1692608.html
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-spending-inferno-or-not/
http://www.governing.com/blogs/by-the-numbers/public-private-sector-cuts-during-recession-by-state.html
Most updated thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/125170175
= new reply since forum marked as read
Rates 101:
The official rate is the U3 unemployment rate. It's just over 8%.
The higher rate freepers cite is the U6 unemployment rate. It's hovering around 15%
The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons." Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work. The age considered for this calculation is 16 years and over
Visit this site for more information:
http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate.jsp
