Let’s Face Facts: The Republican Economic Policies Have Failed

Now that we have had time to digest both Political Conventions, the gloves are off. In the next 60 days Americans have to decide once and for all the direction of this country. Many people were impressed with both shows and it appears that the polls are neck and neck once again. While we all want what’s best for the country, we all need to do a little math and ask ourselves the age old question; “Are we better off today than we were 4 years ago; in this case 8 years ago?”

We have had a Republican President for 8 years with a Republican Congress for 6 of those years. They lowered taxes for business and the wealthy that along with the billions spent on war and subsidies for large corporations etc. reversed the economic policies that Clinton had in place. The wealth was supposed to trickle down and spur economic growth. Sadly, the growth was not real, it was built on debt and we are now paying dearly for it. Many thought the Democratic Congress could accomplish positive change over the last 2 years but since they did not have enough of a majority to turn the tide, they now look really bad; part of the problem instead of the solution.

Though the following numbers are even worse now, these are documented facts as they are from the 2004 census:

-Median Household Income increased under Clinton from $40,422 in 1993 to $46,129 in 2000 when Bush took over. It has declined under Bush since then. In 2004, it was down to $44,389.

-Employment rate declined under Clinton from 6.9% in 1993 to 4% in 2000 when Bush took over. It has increased under Bush and in 2004; it was up to 5.5%.

-Poverty rate under Clinton declined from 15.1% in 1993 to 11.3% in 2000 when Bush took over. It has increased under Bush to 12.7%.

And don’t forget the most important. When Bush took over from Clinton the national debt was about $5.5 trillion dollars. The debt is now $10.6 trillion dollars. Yes, in 8 short years Bush has added $5 trillion to the debt; as much as the entire debt that we had in the whole history of the United States when he took office. He is also leaving the new incoming President, who ever that is, with a 2009 budget deficit of nearly $500 billion dollars; yes that is $ ½ a trillion dollars deficit for one year of running the government.

The Republicans have run the country into the ground. They were the only ones who got rich here. The middle class is suffering under staggering debt and losing their homes. Meanwhile the government has already lent Wall Street Banks over $500 billion dollars and they still give themselves million dollar bonuses even when they fail.

I am not saying that the Democrats are necessarily going to do much better; Obama has offered some pricey panaceas given the state of the budget and the debt. However, we cannot let John McCain keep the same failing policies while bringing even more right-wing religious conservatives into government with him. We all know that “Hope” is not a strategy but in this case, an uplifted spirit is still better than negative divisive politics. The Democratic Convention made me feel like anything could happen; the Republican Convention made me shake in my shoes. In these tough times, hope may be all we have and I’d rather have a positive spirit over the next 4 years than a negative one.