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Democratic Versus Republican Presidents
Economic Indicators
In six major criteria - GDP growth, per capita income growth, job creation, unemployment reduction, inflation reduction, and federal deficit reduction - for the ten post-World War II presidencies until Bush, there is a record to track the reality of Democratic versus Republican economic success.
Democrats
" Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" created robust economic expansion, first in both GDP and personal income growth. He also reduced unemployment from 5.3% to 3.4%. Economic growth remained robust through most of LBJ's presidency.
" John F. Kennedy campaigned on the idea of getting America moving again, and he did. Under Kennedy, America entered its largest sustained expansion since WWII. GDP and personal income growth were second only to Johnson, all with minimal inflation. Contrary to Republican attempts to say Kennedy's tax cuts are like Bush's, Kennedy's were targeted at middle and lower incomes.
" The economy added 10 million jobs under Jimmy Carter despite high inflation; Carter ranks first in job creation next to Clinton during just four years in office. Carter also reduced government spending as a percentage of GDP.
" Harry Truman's second term saw the fastest GDP growth and the sharpest reduction in unemployment of any president surveyed (of course, FDR's post Hoover-depression New Deal jobs are first).
Republicans
" Ronald Reagan focused on reducing the cost of capital through cutting tax bracket highs for the rich and reducing the size and scope of government. But, instead of lowering spending, Reagan shifted money to the military (i.e. Star Wars) and the deficit tripled with the tax cuts and military spending - as under Bush II.
" Under Gerald Ford, the deficit soared and the unemployment rate grew from 5.3 - 8.3% in just 2 years. His "WIN" (Whip Inflation Now) buttons were no match for economic inactivity.
" It was under Richard Nixon that inflation started to spiral out of control, from 4.4% to 8.6%, and the deficit shot up from $2.8 billion to $73.7 billion.
" The Eisenhower years were characterized by slow growth (2.27% annualized GDP growth) and relatively high unemployment (7.7% at end of term).
" George H. W. Bush had the poorest record for both GDP and income growth. During his single term, the deficit ballooned (from $152 billion to $255 billion) more than under every president but his son and Ford.
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Now the ugly truth about recessions. Since World War II, every Republican president has governed over a recession (Dwight Eisenhower had three; Richard Nixon had two, one he shared with Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush is building his second) while Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter are the only Democratic Presidents with a recession, and Carter's was the shortest (6 months), the mildest and caused more by the 1979 Oil Crisis following the Iran Revolution than by policy. The recession count for the Dem team (Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton) 2. For the GOP team (Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush the Daddy and George Bush the Infantile) 9. And all this after the GOP gave us the Great Depression of the 1930s following recessions (during the Roaring Twenties for the wealthy) in 1923-24 for 14 months and 1926-27 for 13 months
Our recessions (according to Geoffrey H. Moore, director emeritus of the Center for International Business Cycle Research at Columbia University in New York City using data from.the National Bureau of Economic Research) have been:
Democratic Versus Republican Presidents
Economic Indicators
In six major criteria - GDP growth, per capita income growth, job creation, unemployment reduction, inflation reduction, and federal deficit reduction - for the ten post-World War II presidencies until Bush, there is a record to track the reality of Democratic versus Republican economic success.
Democrats
" Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" created robust economic expansion, first in both GDP and personal income growth. He also reduced unemployment from 5.3% to 3.4%. Economic growth remained robust through most of LBJ's presidency.
" John F. Kennedy campaigned on the idea of getting America moving again, and he did. Under Kennedy, America entered its largest sustained expansion since WWII. GDP and personal income growth were second only to Johnson, all with minimal inflation. Contrary to Republican attempts to say Kennedy's tax cuts are like Bush's, Kennedy's were targeted at middle and lower incomes.
" The economy added 10 million jobs under Jimmy Carter despite high inflation; Carter ranks first in job creation next to Clinton during just four years in office. Carter also reduced government spending as a percentage of GDP.
" Harry Truman's second term saw the fastest GDP growth and the sharpest reduction in unemployment of any president surveyed (of course, FDR's post Hoover-depression New Deal jobs are first).
Republicans
" Ronald Reagan focused on reducing the cost of capital through cutting tax bracket highs for the rich and reducing the size and scope of government. But, instead of lowering spending, Reagan shifted money to the military (i.e. Star Wars) and the deficit tripled with the tax cuts and military spending - as under Bush II.
" Under Gerald Ford, the deficit soared and the unemployment rate grew from 5.3 - 8.3% in just 2 years. His "WIN" (Whip Inflation Now) buttons were no match for economic inactivity.
" It was under Richard Nixon that inflation started to spiral out of control, from 4.4% to 8.6%, and the deficit shot up from $2.8 billion to $73.7 billion.
" The Eisenhower years were characterized by slow growth (2.27% annualized GDP growth) and relatively high unemployment (7.7% at end of term).
" George H. W. Bush had the poorest record for both GDP and income growth. During his single term, the deficit ballooned (from $152 billion to $255 billion) more than under every president but his son and Ford.
................................................................
Now the ugly truth about recessions. Since World War II, every Republican president has governed over a recession (Dwight Eisenhower had three; Richard Nixon had two, one he shared with Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush is building his second) while Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter are the only Democratic Presidents with a recession, and Carter's was the shortest (6 months), the mildest and caused more by the 1979 Oil Crisis following the Iran Revolution than by policy. The recession count for the Dem team (Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton) 2. For the GOP team (Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush the Daddy and George Bush the Infantile) 9. And all this after the GOP gave us the Great Depression of the 1930s following recessions (during the Roaring Twenties for the wealthy) in 1923-24 for 14 months and 1926-27 for 13 months
Our recessions (according to Geoffrey H. Moore, director emeritus of the Center for International Business Cycle Research at Columbia University in New York City using data from.the National Bureau of Economic Research) have been:
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