2012 Presidential Election (free for all edition)

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

The Graph That All Tax Hike Mystics Need to Grapple With

from the link: "Economic growth, measured as real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was a moderate 3.3 percent in the period from 1993 through 1996, and real wages actually fell for the entire period. In contrast, the 1997 tax cuts, which significantly lowered the capital gains tax rate, coincided with a period of strong business investment, strong real GDP growth at 4.4 percent, and strong real wage growth of 1.7 percent."

also: PolitiFact | Bill Clinton takes credit for "flowering" of economy in 1990s

Neither one of your links disprove the affects the tax cut bill had on the economy. Not that I remotely gave Clinton credit for it, but even in the politifact link. That first link is just LOL. Last time I checked, we were on the road to removing our deficit and having a surplus, which is exactly what the GOP is screaming for.

They don't want it, and it's obvious by their actions they don't.

Here are some of the key indicators we looked at:

• Gross domestic product. Between the third quarter of 1993 and the fourth quarter of 2000, the economy culumatively grew by just about one-third, or approximately 4.4 percent per year. By comparison, growth between the first quarter of 1991 and the third quarter of 1993 was just under 3 percent per year.

So growth was strong in both periods, but it was stronger after passage of the bill.

• Unemployment. Unemployment fell from 6.8 percent to 3.9 percent between passage of the bill and the end of Clinton's term, a period of seven and a half years. That continued a decrease that was already under way: Unemployment fell a full point between a peak of 7.8 percent in June 1992 and August 1993.

So, once unemployment turned a corner, it fell noticeably during both periods. But the period after passage of the bill was especially impressive. During those 90 months, there was only a single occasion when unemployment rose for two consecutive months -- and even that was an exceedingly modest gain, rising from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent and then 4.5 percent between April 1998 and June 1998.

• Personal income. After the bill's passage, personal income increased by about 7.5 percent a year, compared to about 5.2 percent a year prior to passage. So income growth was strong in both periods, but it was stronger after the bill passed.

• Industrial production. Industrial production followed a similar pattern. It rose by about 5.6 percent per year after passage, compared to 3.2 percent per year before passage.

• House prices. The same goes for the real estate market. House prices rose about 4.7 percent a year after passage, compared to 2.4 percent per year prior to passage. (If you thought housing prices rose faster than 4.7 percent per year under Clinton, you may be mistaking his presidency for George W. Bush's; during the first seven years of the Bush administration, housing prices grew by almost 8 percent annually.)

• The stock market. From the passage of the bill until the end of Clinton's term, the Dow Jones Industrial average rose from 3,651 to 10,788 -- a stunning 26.7 percent per year. That dwarfs the historically healthy increase of 10 percent a year for the two and a half years prior to passage.

I don't think anybody is saying that raising the tax rates on the rich was solely responsible for the economy. However, it is (and was) apparent that the bill had a major affect on the economy and in a good way.


We've tried cutting taxes since 2001 (bush and obama) and it hasn't work. Why in the **** would you continue with such reckless behavior and decisions? Oh, I know what, let me continue doing exactly what's drove us into the ground!!

We have to raise taxes (especially the rich). It's about time those .0001% (not the 1%) pay their fair percentage of taxes that most of us had to pay over the past 15 years. For to long, they've dodged taxes through various loopholes and legislation that the normal people couldn't, so it's a fair play of turnabout. Too bad you can't buy that 6th home overseas or that 3rd yacht.