Slowdown? What Slowdown?! - (President Bush's tax cuts & economic policies working great!)

AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM.ORG ^ | MAY 12, 2005 | CHRISTOPHER BUTLER

[CHARLITE]

Booming economic growth in 2005 flies in the face of economic “soft patch”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Another good piece of economic news came today as the Commerce Department reported retail sales grew at a torrid 1.4 percent pace in April. The gains far outpaced analyst’s expectations of 0.8 percent growth and continue to paint a picture of long term, sustained economic growth. Many left-leaning pundits and journalists have claimed in recent weeks that the U.S. economy was slowing down, but reality sharply contradicts this pessimistic outlook.

“I have to question the intellectual credentials of anyone who looks at this economy and says we are in a ‘soft patch’,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). “Businesses investment is increasing, jobs are being created, and consumers are spending and living better. The pessimists and nay-sayers need to get with the program and realize that long-term economic health is here to stay.”

The U.S. economy expanded for 14 consecutive quarters and has exceeded 3 percent growth for 8 straight quarters. It is now widely expected that first quarter growth for 2005 will be revised up from a solid 3.1 percent to an even stronger 3.5 percent. Overall, the U.S. economy has expanded at a 3.4 percent rate since the tax cuts of 2001 and at a torrid 4.3 percent clip since the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA) passed in June of 2003.

Strong economic growth has also been mirrored by strong expansion in the U.S. job market. The economy has created 844,000 new jobs in 2005, on pace to create more than 2.5 million jobs for the year. Since the passage of JGTRRA, the U.S. economy has generated 3.5 million new jobs, and the nationwide unemployment rate stands at a mere 5.2 percent, far lower than average rate of the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s.

“President Bush’s tax cuts on businesses and investment have fueled growth in the American economy and job market,” continued Norquist. “Congress must act to make these cuts permanent so this crucial expansion can continue.”

### Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all federal and state tax increases. For more information or to arrange an interview with Mr. Norquist please contact Christopher Butler at (202)785-0266 or by email at cbutler@atr.org.

[inquest]

Left out of this analysis is the burgeoning debt, with Congress raising the ceiling to $9 trillion. Much of that debt is held by foreign banks (including Chinese banks).

[ex-snook]

Hey here's the way it goes - Stocks are going down, best time to buy. Stocks are going up, best time to buy. Same idea for taxes - goes like this. Economy is strong, best time to cut taxes. Economy is weak, best time to cut taxes. Ya can't lose. It's called doing the bamboozle.

[Leo Carpathian]

The harder the RATs obstruct (busy, busy, busy) the better things get. Jus' keep'em busy, throw them another bone.

[soccer_linux_mozilla]

except my 401(k) hasn't gone anywhere in 5 years :(