Setting the Record Straight: Despite Democrat Claims, President Bush's Policies Are Growing Our Economy

"The tax cuts I signed left $880 billion with our nation's workers, small business owners and families. They've used that money to fuel our economic resurgence. Not everyone in Washington agreed with the decision to let people keep more of their own money. On the day that Republicans in the House and Senate were finalizing the 2003 tax cuts, one Democratic leader said these cuts would 'do nothing to create jobs.' Facts have proven the critics wrong 5.1 million times over."

-President George W. Bush

April 7, 2006

Congressional Democrats Attack The President's Economic Agenda

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): "Hillary Clinton, In Policy Address, Will Slam Bush On Economy." (Laura Litvan and Matthew Benjamin, "Hillary Clinton, In Policy Address, Will Slam Bush On Economy," Bloomberg, 4/11/06)

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): "Democratic leaders say now is not the time to consider extending tax cuts ... 'I can't imagine they would do that to the American people,' Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said of the Republican leadership." (Tom Raum, "Crisis Overtakes Bush's Agenda, Rearranging Second-Term Landscape," The Associated Press, 9/17/05)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): REP. PELOSI: "The Bush economy is going in the wrong direction." (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, "The Bush Economy Is Going In The Wrong Direction," Press Release, 4/7/06)

But Congressional Democrats, Including Clinton, Reid, And Pelosi, Voted Against The President's 2001 And 2003 Tax Relief That Kept $880 Billion In The Hands Of America's Workers And Families

Most Congressional Democrats, Including Clinton, Reid, And Pelosi, Voted Against The Economic Growth And Tax Relief Reconciliation Act Of 2001.(H.R. 1836, CQ Vote #149: Adopted 240-154: R 211-0; D 28-153; I 1-1, 5/26/01; H.R. 1836, CQ Vote #170: Adopted 58-33: R 46-2; D 12-31, 5/26/01)

Almost All Congressional Democrats, Including Clinton, Reid, And Pelosi, Voted Against The Jobs And Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act Of 2003.(H.R. 2, CQ Vote #225: Adopted 231-200: R 224-1; D 7-198; I 0-1, 5/23/03; H.R. 2, CQ Vote #196: Adopted 51-50: R 48-3; D 2-46; I 0-1, With Vice President Cheney Casting A "Yea" Vote, 5/23/03)

President Bush's Tax Cuts Helped Spur Economic Growth

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal Says The President's Tax Cuts "Undeniably Helped Spur" Jobs Expansion. "The Bush 2003 tax cuts have undeniably helped spur this jobs expansion by providing businesses more incentive to invest in equipment and technology, which in turn has increased the demand for workers." (Editorial, "Help (Very Much) Wanted," The Wall Street Journal, 4/10/06)

Today's Christian Science Monitor Reports The Economy "Isn't Just Producing Jobs These Days, It's Also Producing Good Jobs." "The US economy isn't just producing jobs these days, it's also producing good jobs. ... These reports in the past month symbolize a welcome trend during an economic expansion that at first offered only tepid job gains, both in quantity and quality. 'We're creating lots of all kinds of jobs, across many industries, occupations, and pay scales,' says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com." (Mark Trumbull, "US Economy's Latest Output: Better Jobs," The Christian Science Monitor, 4/11/06)

• Management And Professional Occupations Are Employing More Americans. "Management and professional occupations are employing 1.2 million more people this month than a year ago - or about 1 in 3 new jobs in America. This is the highest-paying of five broad categories tracked by the Labor Department. Not all of them are CEOs or engineers, but the median paycheck for full-time workers in this category is $937 a week, far above the US median of $651." (Mark Trumbull, "US Economy's Latest Output: Better Jobs," The Christian Science Monitor, 4/11/06)

• The Manufacturing Sector Is Stabilizing. "Even the manufacturing sector, which has long offered blue-collar workers a measure of middle-class prosperity, appears to be stabilizing after a period of heavy job losses. Despite downsizing in the automotive industry, 175,000 more people are employed in production occupations today than a year ago." (Mark Trumbull, "US Economy's Latest Output: Better Jobs," The Christian Science Monitor, 4/11/06)

• The "Liberal" Economic Policy Institute Finds New Jobs Are Pulling Wages Up, Not Down. "'As this recovery gets under way, professional services have begun adding jobs fairly broadly,' says Jared Bernstein, an economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington. EPI tracks the weighting of higher-versus lower-paying jobs that are being added to the economy. For much of the current expansion, which began at the end of 2001, that indicator has been negative. In the past year, however, it has turned positive, meaning that the new jobs in the economy are the kind that tend to pull average wages up, not down." (Mark Trumbull, "US Economy's Latest Output: Better Jobs," The Christian Science Monitor, 4/11/06)

JUST THE FACTS: President Bush's Pro-Growth Policies Are Producing Results

FACT: Last year, the economy grew at a healthy 3.5 percent rate - faster than any other major industrialized country.

FACT: Since August 2003, we have added more than 5.1 million new jobs - more than Japan and the European Union combined.

FACT: The unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent - lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

FACT: The Conference Board Index of Consumer Confidence rose to 107.2 in March - the highest level in nearly four years.

FACT: Real disposable income has risen 2.2 percent over the past 12 months. Since January 2001, real after-tax income per person has risen 8.3 percent.

FACT: Core inflation is contained, with Core CPI increasing a moderate 2.1 percent over the past 12 months.