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Are You Better Off Now?


Dana

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Than you were four years ago?

http://numeralist.blogspot.com/2005/01/by-numbers-u.html

January 20, 2005

By the Numbers: The U.S. After 4 Years of Bush

Poverty Rate

2000: 11.3% or 31.6 million Americans

2003: 12.5% or 35.9 million Americans

Stock market

Dow Jones Industrial Average

1/19/01: 10,587.59

1/19/05: 10,539.97

NASDAQ

1/19/01: 2,770.38

1/19/05: 2,073.59

S&P 500

1/19/01: 1,342.54

1/19/05: 1,184.63

Value of the Dollar

1/19/01: 1 Dollar = 1.06 Euros

1/19/05: 1 Dollar = 0.77 Euros

Budget

2000 budget surplus $236.4 billion

2004 budget deficit $412.6 billion

That's a shift of $649 billion and doesn't include the cost of the Iraq war.

Cost of the war in Iraq

$150.8 billion

American Casualties in Iraq

Deaths: 1,369

Wounded: 10,252

The Debt

End of 2000: $5.7 trillion

Today: $7.6 trillion

That's a 4 year increase of 33%.

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See, this is just normative bullshit, like everything else related to politics on messageboards :)

Isolate all other variables first, then give numbers. Though a meaningful empirical analysis of Bush's success as a president is pretty much impossible due to the World Trade Center attacks of September 11. Not much wasn't profoundly affected by that.

I'm not a nut-hugger of the president, but those numbers mean absolutely nothing. If you guys would like Political Research 101 one day, just ask me.

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The economy was f*ed before 9/11, it contributed but it was still going to do what it was going to do.

It's not G.W.s fault, it's the all of the administrations from the past 24 years' faults.

Another unbound variable :)

Figure in a steady decline in the state of the economy, the fact that it's typically very cyclical in nature, maybe find similar events to the WTC attacks that have happened in other highly developed countries, and probably a handful of other significant variables. Decide what sort of decline they would precipitate en lieu of Mr. Bush, and there is your control. Compare to the actual numbers, and see if it's better or worse.

It's imprecise, and physical scientists usually are quick to question its accuracy, but it's a strong stride away from normative meaningless research.

If you want feel-good random statistics that support your view, it's very easy to find them. It is difficult however, to find relatively sound research that supports your views (not any views in particular), and even more difficult to conduct your own research.

Edited by EricF
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Yes, I'm doing much better than 4 years ago. It is called progressing. It tends to happen from time to time no matter who is in the Whitehouse.

4 years ago I didn't own a house or a Porsche and now I have both. Is it because of Bill Clinton, G.W. Bush or Richard Nixon? Nope. It is called hard work and dedication to do well. That is what this country is founded on.

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Yes, I'm doing much better than 4 years ago.  It is called progressing.  It tends to happen from time to time no matter who is in the Whitehouse.

4 years ago I didn't own a house or a Porsche and now I have both.  Is it because of Bill Clinton, G.W. Bush or Richard Nixon?  Nope.  It is called hard work and dedication to do well.  That is what this country is founded on.

Quoted for truth.

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