truthful politics

PLA had an article on economic growth:

• GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product and is the measure for economic production. The higher the GDP, the higher the economic production.
• For the twenty years for which Republican presidents submitted budgets, the average rate of GDP growth was 2.94%.
• For the twenty years in which Democratic presidents submitted budgets, the average rate of GDP growth was 3.92%.

To read the entire article, click on Just for the Record Part III.

Kelsey Golden in September of 2008 posted an article on ScoopThis.org illustrating relationships between state unemployment rates, controlling political party, and state income taxes.

• 40% of the states with the unemployment rate higher than the national average are controlled by Republicans”
• 60% of the states with the unemployment rate higher than the national average are controlled by Democrats.
• States with a higher-than-national-average unemployment rate have an average state income tax rate of 5.345%
• “Republicans definitively control 70% of the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates”
• Democrats definitively control 20% of the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates
• The remaining 10%, Oklahoma, is not controlled by one particular party
• The average state income tax in the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates is 5.023%
• The top 5 lowest unemployment rate states have a state income tax 3.46% compared to the average of 6.08% for the 5 states with the highest unemployment rates.

To read the entire article, click on High Unemployment Rates Tied to Democrat Controlled States and Higher State Taxes; States with Lower Rates Controlled by Republicans with Lower State Taxes.

WorkforAll had the following graph for European countries:

Click on the chart below to see an enlarged, clearer chart.

To read the entire article, click on EU : Causes of Growth differentials in Europe.

The Center for American Progress in April 2007 reported the following statistics on poverty in the U.S.A.:

• Persistent childhood poverty costs the U.S. an estimated $500 billion annually
• Poverty for a family of four is defined as annual family income below $19,971
• 12.6% of all Americans were below the above threshold in in 2005
• 31% of all Americans, meaning more than 90 million people, “had incomes below 200 percent of federal poverty thresholds”
• “One third of all Americans will experience poverty within a 13-year period”
• In that 13-year time period, “one in 10 Americans are poor for most of the time, and one in 20 are poor for 10 or more years”
• The U.S. ranks 24 out of 25 countries in terms of the percentage of the population earning 50% below the median income
• “The richest 1 percent of Americans in 2005 held the largest share of the nation’s income (19 percent) since 1929. At the same time, the poorest 20 percent of Americans held only 3.4 percent of the nation’s income.”

To read the entire report, click on From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.