If you examine the numbers, you will find that Democratic Administrations have been better for the U.S. economy--even for business and stock investments. The only thing Republicans do better than Democrats is LIE. It is time to call them on it.

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    It didn’t take long for the Republicans to start blaming Barack Obama for America’s current economic crisis. Two days after the election, the biggest mouth in the Republican propaganda machine announced:

·        “The Obama recession is in full swing, ladies and gentlemen. Stocks are dying, which is a precursor of things to come. This is an Obama recession. Might turn into a depression. He hasn’t done anything yet but his ideas are killing the economy.”--Rush Limbaugh, 11/06/08

     Keeping in mind that Barack Obama became President on January 20, 2009; let’s review a few facts about the economy:

·        “The federal budget deficit will hit a record $1.18 trillion this year even before President-elect Barack Obama can spend a dime of taxpayer money to stimulate the economy....”--The Washington Times, 1/709

     According to Labor Department figures, 3.5 million American jobs disappeared in 2008. This is the most jobs lost in a single year since the Great Depression; and half of those jobs were lost during the last three months of the year, with 577,000 lost in December alone. The new year started off even worse, with 598,000 job cuts in January, raising the national unemployment rate to 7.6 percent--and that may be the good news:

·        “We see job losses accelerating for at least the next several months to the point where that 600,000 mark will soon be a dot in the distance behind us,”-- economist Guy LeBas of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

·        “If underemployed and marginally attached workers are counted, the US unemployment rate stands at 13.9 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.”

·        “When Bush took the oath of office in 2001, the national debt stood at $5.7 trillion. As Bush departed, [it was] more than $10.6 trillion – a quantum increase of nearly 100 percent.”

·        The nearly $1.2 trillion federal deficit is equal to 8.3 percent of U.S. GDP, the highest ratio since World War II.

     No matter what measure of the economy you look at, the numbers are bad:

·        “U.S. manufacturing activity decreased in December at its fastest pace in nearly 30 years.”-- The Washington Post, 1/3/09

·        Spending on big-ticket durable goods dropped 22%--the largest decline since 1987.

·        Investment in equipment and software felll 28%e-- the biggest drop in 50 years.

·        General Motors sales are down 49% from a year ago; Ford Motor sales down 39%; Chrysler down 55%; Toyota Motor down 32% in its U.S. sales; Honda Motor down 28%; and Nissan sales fell 30%.

     Despite this non-stop flood of bad economic news, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has not lost its sense of humor. In late January, their website boasted:

·        “Thanks to Republican economic policies, the U.S. economy is robust and job creation is strong. Republican tax cuts are creating jobs and continuing to strengthen the economy...” (The website has since been “updated” to promote a discussion of how Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are destroying the economy.)

     To understand why Republicans make ridiculous statements like this, you have to realize that Republicans do not operate in the same fact-based reality as the rest of us.

·        “...[W]hen we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality... we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”-- Karl Rove (a.k.a. “Bush’s Brain)

·        “A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.”--Frank Luntz, conservative consultant and pollster

     Throw in the old adage: If you tell a lie enough times, it becomes the truth--and that is how Republicans have created the myth that they are better for the economy than Democrats. That is why Rush Limbaugh is paid $50 million a year to repeat their lies over and over, and why Fox News broadcasts Republican propaganda twenty-four hours a day. They know that if the American public ever learned the truth about which party is better for the economy, it could be the end of the Republican party.

    This myth of Republican fiscal responsibility lost all credibility during the past eight years, as Americans watched the Bush Administration bring us to the brink of economic catastrophe, by cutting taxes, waging wars, borrowing and spending, while Wall Street engaged in an orgy of unregulated greed. So, the Republicans did the only thing they know how to do. They invented a new story:

·        They’re sorry. They realize they have strayed from their bedrock principles of fiscal responsibility, but they have learned their lesson and promise to once again follow the divine teachings of their Patron Saint, Ronald Reagan. Then, all will be well. Republicans will win elections again and they will save the nation from the economic disaster caused by Barack Obama and the Democrats.

     The problem with the Republicans’ new story is the same as with their old story--Republicans have never been the party of fiscal responsibility and the Ronald Reagan they worship is the biggest myth of all.

     Since World War II, only three presidents have increased the federal deficit as a percentage of the gross domestic product: (Republicans) Ronald Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II. (Historical Tables of the Budget of the United States Government, compiled by the Office of Management and Budget)

     According to Treasury Department figures (courtesy of the Daily Kos):

·        Republicans have held the presidency for 17 of the last 25 years. They have never balanced a budget and have increased total debt outstanding 11.69% in each year they have held the White House.

·        The Democrats have held the White House for 8 of the last 25 years. They have balanced the budget 3 times and increased total debt outstanding 4.2%.

     A comparison of the years 1927 and 1998 found that the stock market returned about 9 percent more a year under Democratic presidents than under Republicans (The Presidential Puzzle: Political Cycles and the Stock Market, Journal of Finance, Oct. 2003).

·        “[S]ince 1949 Democratic administrations have done better than Republican ones when it comes to unemployment (5.2% to 6.0%), job creation (-.0.4% decrease in unemployment, compared to 0.3% increase), GDP growth rate (4.2% to 2.9%), and even corporate profits as a share of GDP.”--perrspectives.com, citing Does the Party in Power Matter for Economic Performance?, University of Nevada, December 2006

     Ronald Reagan raised taxes when he was Governor of California; and as president, he raised taxes in 1982, 1983 and 1984--“including the largest peacetime tax hike in American history when measured as a percentage of the national economy.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/20/08) Why did Reagan raise taxes? Because the government needed money and that is how government is supposed to work: tax and spend--not borrow and spend as the Bush Administration did for the past eight years.

     If you examine the numbers, you will find that Democratic Administrations have been better for the U.S. economy--even for business and stock investments. The only thing Republicans do better than Democrats is LIE. It is time to call them on it.

Authors Bio:

Mick Youther is an American citizen, an independent voter, a veteran, a parent, a scientist, a writer, and all-around nice guy who has been roused from a comfortable apathy by the high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush Administration.