In 1994 it was the first time in my life I felt comfortable about making a living. I bought my first house. The next year I bought my first new car. The economy was rocking. Thing were great we were living a good life. The middle class had come into it's own. In 2001 I moved to Florida and watched everything go to hell after GWB. Regan's economics proved trickle down did not work. Jobs started to be outsourced, most companies said to compete. To this I say BULL. The people that worked those jobs here bought homes, cars, groceries, etc. You now see CEO saleries skyrocket and the workers get squat. My mortgage payment went up 100% in 6 years because of greedy insurance companies and slick legislators sqeezing every tax dollar they can by inflatng home prices. The stock market is a house of cards. Pick up any item in any store it's made in China. It is hard to find anything that says made in USA any more. The good paying manufacturing jobs that built this Country are gone. We need to change the Government and stop borrowing on my grandaughters back shes only 13 months old and will paying for this mess if don't stop it.

You couldn't be more like the president himself. It's not about your party affiliation, Democrats are not the only ones trying to tell the truth. But it does seem like the very few followers that bush has left, such as yourself, are trying VERY hard to cover up. Your just a hypocrite. Claiming that everyone else is telling stories and keeping secrets, but your the one with selective statistics... Thanks MEDAN! there's always 2 sides to a story, lets keep it real.

Amazing how bushits complain when anyone blames gas price increases on bush, yet they want to give him credit when the price decreases. How wonderful it sounds that gas prices have fallen 80 cents since August. Of course we saw this same type phenomenon happen last year too. The average Florida regular price on 09/05/05 was $3.012. The prices then started to fall hitting bottom on 12/15/05 @ $2.187. By 01/23/06 it was back up to $2.40. By 04/24/06 is up to $2.953.

In fact, gas prices have increased in the December to March period each year since December 2001. So get ready to hear the excuses like increased oil usage for heating. By the way, in the 20 years prior to 2001, this December to March increase only happened 5 times (25%).

And of course one other little fact that's left out in bushits storytelling is that in January 2001 when sadly bush took office, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the average gas price was $1.525.

How about the Gross Domestic Product - in 2004 yes the GDP was up 3.91%, the highest increase in the bush years. During the Clinton years, the average year to year increase was higher than that 4 separate years. In fact, in the last 4 years of the Clinton administration the annual average increase of the GDP was 4.2%. For Clinton's 8 years, the average was 3.71%. Compare that to the average of 2001-2005 @ 2.4%, or to the average of the 4 years prior to Clinton (daddy bush) @ 2.15%.

U.S. Bank issued an “Economic Prospects” report on 10/16/06. Regarding economic growth, they wrote …. Are combining to slow growth over the second half of the year to just 2 ¼% and especially in the 3rd quarter when we estimate growth was below 2%.” The report also states “GDP growth in 2007 and 2008 is expected at 3.3%”.

By the way, unlike bushit stories, the bush tax subsidies for the wealthy actually began in 2001 when the lowest bracket was kept the same, but the higher tax brackets were all lowered by 0.5%.

Regarding Federal Tax revenue, for the first time since 1983, annual tax revenue declined - due to bush's tax subsidies for the wealthy. The earlier decline was of course due to the Reagan tax cut. In 1984, however, social security benefits became taxable for the first time and tax revenue shot up 10%. However the biggest tax revenue increase during the Reagan years was 1987 when tax revenue shot up 13.3%. This is when Reagan was smart enough to realize the problems his earlier tax cuts were causing, so he changed course (something that stubborn mules can not do).

From 1982 - 2001, the average increase in tax collections was 6.6%. The small tax law changes in 2001 lowered that year's increase to 1.5%, the lowest annual increase since the decline of 1983. But in 2002 when more of the wealthy tax subsidies kicked in, this revenue fell 5.3%, over $112trillion. These revenues fell another $63.7trillion in 2003 (or almost $176trillion less than 2001). In 2004, tax revenue started to go back up but it was still over $110trillion lower than 2001. Finally in 2005 tax revenue exceeded 2001 tax revenue. Suddenly, bushits are claiming that the increased tax revenue is a sign of a healthy economy. Yet the same people claimed that high tax revenue under Clinton was bad (remember the "it's your money" BS). So it seems that high tax revenue is good or bad depending on who is President.

If the tax revenue had continued it's 6.6% annual increase as it had done in the previous 20 years (12 years Republican, 8 years Democrat), the budget surplus that was inherited from the Clinton administration by bush would have survived. Instead we now have a deficit which has caused the U.S. to borrow $1.3trillion since 2001, 80% from foreign countries. The fact is that the U.S. economy is much like the homeowners who have survived the last few years by borrowing on their home equity. Only the blind can not see what is happening to these people now that the interest rates are climbing. So what will happen if China decides to take their money home now? WOW, what strong economic footing we have.

One last thing- the bushits like to harp on the unemployment rate since it is lower than last year. Ah, but the storytelling continues by not telling the whole story. Per the U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:

a)The current unemployment rate = 4.6%
b)The unemployment rate in December 2000 (last full Clinton month) = 3.9%
c)In August 2001, the unemployment rate had already climbed to 4.9%, so throw the 09/11 excuse out the window
d)The unemployment rate average for Clinton's 2nd term was 4.4%
e)The unemployment rate in December 1992 (last full bush I month = 7.4%
f)The unemployment average for GWB's first term = 5.5%

Yes, the average 1990's unemployment rate was 5.8%. The bushits just don't like to mention how this was, so here is a breakdown year by year:
bush I
1990 = 5.62%
1991 = 6.85%
1992 = 7.49%
Clinton
1993 = 6.91%
1994 = 6.1%
1995 = 5.59%
1996 = 5.41%
1997 = 4.94%
1998 = 4.5%
1999 = 4.22%

Yep, the average sure was 5.8%, but who's fault was that?

By the way,
a)the average rate for 2000 (Clinton's last year) was 3.97%.
b)The average rate for Clinton's 8 years was 5.2%, after inheriting bush I's 7.4%. And the rate declined every year.
c)The average rate for bush I's 4 years was 6.31%, and the rate increased every year. (At least gwb is doing better than daddy, for what that's worth)
d)The U.S. bank report noted above states “The unemployment rate is expected to drift up toward 5.1% by the spring of 2007.”

Now who is trying to fool who?