The Pie Got Bigger

IBD Editorials ^ | August 26, 2008

[Kaslin]

Economy: Average U.S. income fell when George Bush took office in 2001. Naturally, Democrats and the media unfairly blamed him for it. But now Americans are better off than when Bill Clinton was president.

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According to the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service, average adjusted gross income in 2006 hit $58,029 in 2006 dollars. It was the first time that average income had exceeded the peak year of 2000, the year before incomes began to decline. The average income in 2006 was 1.2%, or $739, higher than in 2000, when incomes were swollen by capital gains from a roaring market, and $1,369 over the 2005 average.

We've heard a lot about how Bush has mismanaged the economy, but there's no evidence of this. In fact, incomes began growing in 2003 after falling in 2001 and 2002 and have trended upward every year since. The small bump in 2003 was followed by gains of $2,291 in 2004 and $2,210 in 2005.

[ken21]

the last paragraph is quite a compliment to president bush!

[1rudeboy]

Walter Williams periodically tries to hammer this subject to no avail. He demonstrates, using the IRS’ own data, that one of the reasons incomes appear to be level is because middle-income people are moving into higher-income levels, and lower-income people are moving to replace them.

[mamelukesabre]

This only goes through the year 2006. You can bet the last two years won’t look quite so appealing. You can’t have 4 doallar a gallon gas and expect the economy to not suffer from it.

btw, a 7 or 800 dollar increase in average yearly wages is meaningless if the value of the dollar drops 5%.

[Steamburg]

And in 2006 the Dems took over congress and things haven’t been as good since.

[Nick Danger]

btw, a 7 or 800 dollar increase in average yearly wages is meaningless if the value of the dollar drops 5%.

Yeah, we know that. What you don't seem to know is that the figures in this article, and several others like it, are adjusted for inflation.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The “Misery Index” is pretty much a tie between Slick, the current President Bush and President Harry Truman. Good times were had by all during those years. ;)

http://www.miseryindex.us/indexbypresident.asp

[elpadre]

Understanding that the 9/11 attack was aimed to bring down the American economic system, that the subsequent trauma the country suffered was substantial, I wonder how much it affected the early numbers of the story??

[ken21]

yeah, i wondered the same.

i’m not an economist.

[mountn man]

If you remember, a president doesn't have his budget plan in plac for 6-9 months after taking office. Which is when 9/11 happened. Once the budget is in place it takes about a year, sometimes 2, before policy begins to have an effect.

When GW took office, the economy was already stalled and beginning to track downward. When 9/11 happened, the economy at that point was still operating on Clinton policies.

After 9/11 the economy took on its own life. I believe the rebate checks went out june or july of '02. About 9 months after 9/11. So you can't really start to see what GW's policies did until about a year after 9/11, and about 20 months after he took office.

Also one needs to remember that the Euro began as a currency in Jan. of '02, with the merging of 15 nations currencies into 1.

The dollar has always fluctuated against all these currencies, so this fluctuation is nothing new.

[ken21]

very true.

[Kackikat]

Obama’s meeting in Montana’s town hall claimed the opposite today....it is easy to lie when all the focus is on the DNC...amazing how noone calls him on where he gets his statistics...

[mamelukesabre]

Inflation? What inflation? everyone keeps telling us there’s no inflation!/s

[Nick Danger]

Inflation? What inflation?

Which part of "the figures were adjusted for inflation" challenges your intellect?

[rmlew]

Imagine what the economy would be like with 12-21 million fewer illegals.

[expat_panama]

"...the IRS’ own data..."

Thanks for the ping.

The IRS' figures don't show all the earnings that the IRS couldn't tax, which is why my bet is that even these good numbers are underestimating American incomes.  Let's face it, with all the dem trolls on these threads linking up with the professional complainers, we got damn few of us that are willing to recognize good news when it's there.

[mamelukesabre]

The part that says “inflation”.

[chevydude26]

I’m utterly shocked how somehow the opposite perception has been spoken like its the truth...

It angered me that mccain couldn’t defend bush’s economy...I was screaming at the top of my lungs this same information and mccain kept saying “bush’s bad economy”...mccain was an idiot sometimes

i swear the majority of the country are mindless sheep sometimes and the media shapes these false perceptions...but I always knew the truth

any idiot can look at the numbers themselves and see that bush grew the economy by 25% over the last 8 years and turned around bad circumstances...

bush could have done better though by going back to reagan’s 28% top marginal rate...