The Democrats Are Better for Business

The Wall Street Journal ^ | October 20, 2004 | ROGER C. ALTMAN

[Fiddlstix]

Altman is an idiot.

[Fredgoblu]

I'd be curious to know what the data showed if you just slid the GDP scale back 1-2 years...you know...attributing 2001 to whoever was president in 2000.

Whoever takes the oval office in January, 2005 will get credit for the ongoing economic recovery that was spurred by the tax relief and the increased (hopefully short term) deficit spending.

[CyberAnt]

"shareholders obviously benefited more under Bill Clinton"

Hmmmm? Enron, et al. I believe the "shareholders" LOST EVERYTHING. That wouldn't appear to me to be any kind of benefit.

[No Surrender Monkey]

BTW, even with the bubble, the NASDAQ was up 330% under Reagan and Bush and up 177% under Clinton.

[wayoverontheright]

Could it be because when the Democrats vow to tax ONLY those making "over $200,000", they are in effect declaring WAR on every investor, entrepreneur, and EMPLOYER in the country?

The last time I looked into it, only a DEMOCRAT had used the words CEO and BENEDICT ARNOLD in the same sentence.

[OESY]

Elliott Spitzer caused a market loss of $80 billion in two days.

The Big Question: How can an anti-business party
be good for the economy, investors and jobs?

[No Surrender Monkey]

Could it be because when the Democrats vow to tax ONLY those making "over $200,000", they are in effect declaring WAR on every investor, entrepreneur, and EMPLOYER in the country?

Well, they are definitely declaring war on the major source of the supposed jobs they constantly fault Bush for not creating.

[OESY]

Roger Altman met with Clinton more than 40 times to brief him on the progress of an RTC investigation. Altman gave 208 non-answers to questions put to him by Congress. Altman said he didn't mislead Congress intentionally.

RTC was then investigating Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, an Arkansas S&L owned by the late James McDougal, who joined Bill and Hillary Clinton to invest in Whitewater, an Arkansas real estate development that ultimately failed.

[OESY]

BTW, non-answers include such gems as "I don't recall," I can't remember," and "Beats me," so why would anyone want someone with such a bad memory advising a president on economic matters or, for that matter, on how well the economy does under Democrats?

Maybe the markets act as forecasting mechanisms that look forward to the next Republican administration and that creates investor optimism, causing stocks to rise.

Meanwhile, Reagan turned a recession into a recovery, as did both Presidents Bush. Clinton -- advised by Altman, on the other hand, it can be argued, let a bubble get out of control and turned it into a recession, with the markets eventually losing $7 trillion in capitalization. The result: a recession and lost jobs. Way to go Dems!

[zeppenwolf]

"...only a DEMOCRAT had used the words CEO and BENEDICT ARNOLD in the same sentence."

That's not fair! He explained that it was his speechwriter who made him say that...

...several times...

...until there was a backlash. :)