I often use this blog as a forum to fault our current president, who I unbashedly share party affiliation with, for what I see as sometimes boneheaded actions taken by a cowboy who needs to learn to be a diplomat.
But today I get to crow a bit about something he's done right. The Economy. Yes, you've heard it right, Bush did the economy right. Many people think he ran for president to show-up his father and oust Saddam Hussein. Clearly, that has shown to be a huge mistake - if not the decision to do it, at least the planning and exist strategy.
But I'm here folks to talk to you about Bush's economic governance. I must admit that, surrounded by anti-Bush friends and co-workers, I've become disillusioned even with Bush's economics. It just seems like he's spending too much money, and putting us too far in debt over Iraq and other pet projects. But as I pointed out in another recent blog post, I recently learned that Bush's spend rate has been a respectable (and somewhat steady) 20% of GDP.
Now I've learned that the main argument my left-leaning friends have about Bush economics, the budget deficit, is also in jeopardy. The Treasury Department has announced that in December, 2006 the U.S. Government ran at a profit. That's right folks, Iraq and Tax Breaks and all, the government is back to making money. And even better, for the 1st Quarter of 2007 (remember the US Government fiscal year starts in October) the U.S. Government ran the lowest deficit since 2002. Tax revenues increased 8.2 percent over the same period in the previous year, and expenses only increased 0.7 percent over the same period.
Why is this? How can we be increasing the U.S. Revenue kitty while maintaining a tax code that some Democrats maintain is unsustainable? Simple (conservative) economic policy, folks. You decrease taxes. Businesses have more money to spend. They spend it on their business, because that is the only way they make even more money. That means they hire more people. The increased taxable revenues and jobs increase tax revenues. The 44 Billion Dollar surplus in December was almost entirely attributed to corporate tax revenues. It seems so simple.
So criticize Bush for Iraq. I agree. Tell him to stop invading our privacy, and stop telling us that we're unAmerican for questioning his authority. I urge you. Write to me, and I'll tell you where to donate money - as I do - to stop the invasion of our rights to privacy. But meanwhile, give credit where credit is due - Bush's economy is doing great.
So I guess he did show up his dad. Few probably remember that despite Bush's nearly complete victory in Iraq, he lost the election because, as one newspaper put it, "It's the economy, Stupid."