Facts about the Obama recovery
The Republicans have a mythology about the economy that we have to break through. We have all seen the "bikini chart" that shows monthly employment changes under Bush II and Obama.
I put the following chart together from current FRED data. This takes us back to the day Reagan took office, to give us a better perspective on what this whole era has looked like. The chart shows the monthly changes in total private sector employment. I did not include military and other government employment because, you know, "Government doesn't create jobs." It is the same basis for all Presidents.
You will notice several things:
1) There have been 4 periods of major job losses. All started under REPUBLICAN Presidents.
2) Each REPUBLICAN president had at least one such period, and Bush II did the dirty deed twice.
3) None of these periods started under the Democratic Presidents.
4) The BUSH II employment loss was 3 times as severe as any of the other events.
5) Consequently the Obama recovery is strong, but not as robust as the Clinton years.
6) Bush II really had only one decent year: 2005.
7) Each of the past 2 years under Obama has seen stronger private sector job performance than Bush II's best year.
= new reply since forum marked as read
OK, so the Republicans say that jobs aren't everything. you really have to look at the total economic activity -- the total blessings that trickle down upon us when we give the huge welfare programs to the richest among us.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, that doesn't hold up to real data either. This chart looks at the changes in quarterly GDP.
Oops! We find:
1) The same 4 periods of decline -- all starting under REPUBLICAN Presidents.
2) Contrary to the Republican mythology, Clinton's last quarter was solid. The GDP was doing OK when Clinton left office.
3) These results are equalized for inflation. The "fabulous Reagan years" were about the same as the Obama years and far less than the Clinton years.
4) These charts include the benefit of vast deficit spending for obscene levels of military spending under the Republicans, and especially Bush II. Even so,the best Bush II years are barely better than the Obama years when we are drawing down the off-budget war spending.
