Here’s a BushToll nugget that pretty much speaks for itself. When George W. Bush took office on Jan. 20, 2001, the S&P 500 stock market index stood at $1,342.54. The day he left office, it was $805.22, a drop of 40 percent
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fared a bit better. It dropped only 25 percent. Sadly, the tech-heavy NASDAQ shed 48 percent of its value on President Bush’s watch.
As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words:
UPDATED 2/5/2017 with revised BLS data through the end of Barack Obama’s second term.
When it comes to job creation, George W. Bush produced the worst results—a one percent increase over eight years—of any president since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started keeping records in 1939.
As the de facto head of his party, a U.S. president is said to have coattails upon which his (not yet her) fellow party members ride into office. For political aspirants, the support of a popular president opens doors and wallets. When things go right, a president gains political allies in Congress and in state capitols across the country. When things go wrong, you end up with today’s Republican Party under the failed leadership of George W. Bush.
Continue reading Coattails? Bush and the Republican Debacle
Two recessions occurred on George W. Bush’s watch, the current one (that began in December 2007) being of catastrophic proportions. Here are the facts…
When it comes to measuring and dating U.S. business cycles, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the gold standard. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., the private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization tracks economic expansions and contractions (recessions), where contractions start at the peak of a business cycle and end at the trough.
Continue reading The Bush Recession(s) UPDATED
Over his eight years in office, George W. Bush presided over an 85.5 percent increase in the Gross Federal Debt.
When he was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2001 the Gross Federal Debt was $5.728 trillion(1), or 57 percent of the $10.129 trillion(2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On Jan. 20, 2009, the day of Bush’s departure, the Gross Federal Debt was estimated at $10.627 trillion(3), an 85.5 percent increase since his inauguration.
Continue reading Bush Grew Gross Federal Debt by 85.5%
