Once again George W. Bush comes through for the working man.
U.S. factory activity expanded at the fastest pace for 20 years in December, a survey showed Friday, adding evidence that a manufacturing recovery is under way and benefiting from the lower dollar in the form of higher exports.
The Institute for Supply Management said its barometer of manufacturing activity jumped to 66.2 in December from 62.8 in November. Wall Street economists had forecast the index at 61.0.
U.S. stock prices rose on the data while U.S. Treasury bond prices fell sharply.
"It's very positive for the the overall economic outlook, suggesting continued momentum in the manufacturing sector," said John Silvia, chief economist with Wachovia Bank in Charlotte, N.C. [Emphasis added]
What? You mean tax cuts can spur economic growth, and that increased growth will result in more jobs for the average person? How can this be? Michael Moore told me that the exact opposite was true! I'm so confused!
Oh, and for those of you who need a little help understanding these simple concepts, take a look at the text above. What year was it 20 years ago? 1983. Who was president in 1983? Ronald Reagan. What party was Reagan in? The GOP. Did Reagan cut taxes? No, he slashed taxes. What was the result of Reagan's tax cut program? Let's take a look.
Reagan's tax-rate cuts — combined with his emphasis on sound money, deregulation, and free trade — created a mighty economic expansion in the 1980s. Bob Bartley of the Wall Street Journal described this period as "the seven fat years." Any student of the 1980s, who wishes to know what really happened to the economy in the Reagan years must read Bartley's invaluable book by that title. This expansion carried through the 1990s as well — creating America's greatest sustained wave of prosperity ever. "
The economy grew by more than one-third in size. Growth was so high in the 1980s that grouchy leftists were forced to resort to ridiculing the Reagan years as the "decade of greed."
Consider what happened to the net wealth of the nation over this lengthy period of peace and prosperity. In 1982 the Dow Jones hit a low point of 792. When Reagan left office, the market had more than tripled in value. Then in tripled again over the next 10 years. In other words, after the Reagan tax cuts, the stock market soared from a low of 800 to well over 10,000 today. Miraculous is the only word to describe this $15 trillion increase in Americans' wealth.
It wasn't just the affluent who benefited from the 1980s expansion. After Reagan's tax-rate cuts, real median family incomes, which had fallen sharply during the stagflationary period 1977-82, rose by nearly 10 percent. From 1981 to 1989, every income quintile — from the richest to the poorest — gained income according to the Census Bureau economic data.
You can also check the data for yourself. Here's a summary.
The economic benefits of [Reagan's tax cut program] were summarized by President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers in 1994: "It is undeniable that the sharp reduction in taxes in the early 1980s was a strong impetus to economic growth."
So, bring on election 2004. I can't wait to see the Democrats trying to explain to voters their previous calls to repeal Bush's tax cuts.
Souces for this
http://www.nationalreview.com/balanc...ce081701.shtml
http://www.house.gov/jec/fiscal/tx-g...t/reagtxct.htm