Let's see --- I guess that means we're still enjoying the benefits of the Reagan boom!
Posted on 11/02/2007 3:17:20 PM PDT by TheLineMustBeDrawnHere
As this week's economic events show—the second straight quarter of nearly 4 percent growth in gross domestic product and job growth twice what Wall Street expected—betting against the American economy is one of the all-time losing wagers. Mortgage mess, credit crisis, high oil prices—whatever. The boom keeps booming.
Over the past 25 years, the United States has enjoyed a marvelous stretch of almost uninterrupted economic growth. In fact, November marks a wonderful double anniversary. The current six-year economic expansion dates from November of 2001, while the long economic boom dates from November 1982.
Consider this: Since 1982, according to the NBER, the economy has suffered two recessions—in 1990-91 and in 2001—for a total of 16 months. By contrast, in the previous 25 years, the economy suffered six economic downturns for a painful total of 67 months. Even worse, the 1973-75 and 1981-82 recessions were two of the nastiest of the 20th century. Is it any wonder that the stock market basically went nowhere from 1966 to 1982, with such big hurdles to overcome? The Dow Jones industrial average hovered right around 1000 for more than a decade and a half. But since August 1982, when it bottomed at 776, the Dow has risen almost 1,700 percent.
So what explains this extended period of growth and prosperity?
To a great extent, surprisingly, there is not a lot of debate about this, at least concerning the broad strokes of economic success. "We did something really radical," says Lawrence Lindsey, a former director of the National Economic Council for President Bush. "We decided to let markets work." Deregulation, free trade, and tax cuts were all just different facets of the same basic idea: a bit less government, a bit more markets.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Reagan started it and the rest of them (especially Clinton) just rode the wave.
“Worst economy in 50 years.”
Boom must be due to cutting off imports and ending illegal immigration.
Unfortunately, you cannot borrow your way to prosperity forever, as we are soon to find out.
It depends on free trade, which the recent isolationists won't want to hear. Reagan did have a lot to do with it, and free trade that he promoted is a big key.
Yeah. We started that 25 years ago, which is why we're still doing well.
I've been hearing that "we're going to go broke from borrowing" tune for all of my 50+ years. Hasn't happened yet, and with deficit spending something like 1% of GDP it seems hard to believe it will now.
Jimmy P. bump!
All three -- deregulation, free trade, and tax cuts -- are more effective than their opposites, but can produce honest frustration. There are times when a genuine problem could be solved fairly easily by government fiat. To argue for not solving problems that way doesn't sell well.
But somehow this country has managed to be a little bit wise, and the fruits are plenty.
small government is beautiful
Unfortunately for the Know Nothings we are doing nothing of the sort as they well know, or would, if they ever bothered to actually look at the data instead of just spout dogma. Oh great Debt hawk. Please explain to us how Great Britain has managed a National Debt for some 400 years?
Which all the current crop of Democrats want to kill by going back to Carter Era tax rates.
"It is undeniable that the sharp reduction in taxes in the 1980s was a strong impetus to growth."
What a statment!!
Has anyone in the MSM ever reported this??
This would certainly deflate some of the Liberal gasbags!
hmmm... let's see, would it be anything like,slavery, conquest/colonization, gunboat diplomacy, wars, fractional-reserve banking, and it's ever faithful friend... inflation?
Wow, and they said to call a doctor after 4 hours.
That’s pretty good. Yeah we are in a sweet spot right here of being able to police a large mobile borderless society. I get where these globalist, immigrationists are going with this but the thing is, I don’t like all the traffic and stress that comes with rapid population growth. But the economy is going great guns. You got a lot of new Americans shopping like crazy putting down roots.
Thank you, President Reagan.
didn’t ron grant amnesty to a bunch of illegals? Ron would like you to thank Juan Valdez as well because you know nothing primes that free enterprise pump like compliant, non union cheap labor.
One thing is certain in this hungry world; no regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the fields for lack of harvesters.
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