Bush Era Performance

I have been seeking actual performance measures under the Boy George administration and hit the jackpot finally. Here's a documented summary from the Democratic Caucus.


Here's another from Academy Computer Services.


Here's a final twist from Krugman on the same jobs data above:

The Bush jobs record

Changes in nonfarm employment since inauguration under the last two administrations:

Feel the boom!

Points to notice:

1. The official recession may have been short, but the employment recession of 2001-2003 was anything but

2. The administration’s habit of counting job gains since August 2003 is revealed for the cheap trick it is

3. Even during the good years, job growth under Bush was slower than the average under Clinton

Add: I may have been unclear: this is the total number of jobs added, in thousands, since January 1993 and January 2001 respectively. So the Clinton years ended with a net gain of about 23 million jobs, whereas the Bush years so far have seen a net gain of about 5 million. That’s not to say that either president deserves credit/blame for everything that happened on his watch; it’s just about the real facts of the case.

Let the numbers speak!