A couple of weeks ago, actor/senator/lobbyist Fred Thompson, a leading GOP presidential contender despite not having launched a campaign, lost his campaign manager, research director, and spokesperson in the course of a couple of days.
Apparently, he fired his economic advisor, too. In his latest column, Thompson argues that Bush’s economic policies are superior to those of Bill Clinton’s.
Economist Larry Kudlow calls today’s American economy, “the greatest story never told.” If you’re generally predisposed to not support tax cuts and economic growth, you’re probably satisfied that the U.S. economy isn’t bragged on more. But you’d also be out of step with Americans [sic] traditional optimism, and out of step with reality, too. […]
Since the spring of 2003, the economy has had average growth of over 3%, 8.2 million jobs have been created, and the inflation rate has stayed low. The current unemployment rate, 4.6%, is a full percentage point below what it averaged during the 1990s, and there have been 47 consecutive months (almost four years) of job growth. In the last three years, workers’ salaries have risen by $1.2 trillion, or $8,000 per worker, and consumer confidence recently reached its highest level in almost six years.
People have pointed out that journalists were trumpeting economic statistics during the Clinton administration that were not as good as those we have now, hence the “greatest story never told.” I think they want to play down how well we’ve done with lower tax rates, because it interferes with the ability of their friends in Congress who believe that a virtuous society is one that divides the economic pie, taking more out of taxpayer pockets and letting government do more with those dollars. To them, growing the pie means taxing the people more, which then gives the government more money to transfer to others. But conservatives know better.
Wow. It would be surprising enough for a presidential candidate to say such nonsense out loud, but to put it in print is rather remarkable. Thompson has already developed something of a reputation for having a limited intellect, but writing such tripe is only going to make matters worse.
I’ve been looking forward to the end of 2008, not just because it will mark the end of Bush’s presidency, but also because it will offer a chance to compare Clinton’s and Bush’s records. The current Oval Office occupant still has a ways to go, but so far, Clinton is ahead in every possible category, including job creation, economic growth, deficit reduction, poverty reduction, stock market growth, narrowing the income gap, the list goes on and on.
MSNBC looked at just job creation and public confidence.
During the eight years of the Clinton Administration — which, by the way, raised taxes — about 23 million jobs were created, which comes out to about 240,000 jobs per month. By comparison, only a net of 5.6 million jobs have been created during the Bush years, which comes out to about 71,000 per month. Even taking away the job losses caused by a recession and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bush years come up short: In the 47 consecutive months of job growth since the fall of 2003, the per-month average has been about 177,000 jobs.
What’s more, many Americans don’t feel that great about the economy right now. In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, 68% of respondents say the country is in an economic recession — or will be in the next 12 months. And on a 1-to-10 scale, the mean grade respondents gave the economy in the poll was 5.6. By comparison, the grade they gave in June 1997 (well before the tech boom of the late 1990s) was 6.2.
That latter point matters. Thompson is not just wrong on the facts when it comes to Bush’s economic record, he’s also insulting the public’s intelligence. Americans who’ve struggled for the last six years know how awful Bush’s policies have been. For Thompson to tell them, “Don’t believe your lying eyes” only reinforces the notion that this guy is an amateur who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Let’s also not overlook the fact that Thompson’s column describes a vast media conspiracy, made up of journalists who want to raise taxes and undermine our “virtuous society.” Thompson’s not only wrong, he’s apparently a bit of a nut.
Perhaps I’m going about this the wrong way. Maybe it’s better that a leading GOP presidential hopeful wants to embrace Bush’s economic record and tell people how much better off they are now than in the ’90s. If Dems are really lucky, Thompson will keep this up and his Republican rivals will join him in repeating this nonsense.