Index and income improving again

I know there are people who hate President Bush and no amount of knowledge will change that. However, people willing to listen and learn need to know some facts that seldom make the news.

It is quite clear that the economy was getting worse during the last year of the Clinton administration. The peak for industrial production in this country came in mid-2000 (an index of 116) and the slide continued into the Bush administration, reaching the lowest point about the beginning of 2002 (an index of 109). Remember the NASDAQ bust? That didn’t come because of the Bush policies. It was a classic bubble caused by investors forgetting the lessons of the past. By early 2004, industrial production was back to an index of 114, and rising.

One more interesting statistic: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, real median household income increased from $35,563 in 2001 to $35,812 in 2003. This takes into account the tax cuts made under the Bush administration. Every major occupational group saw increases in median income. The Employment Policy Foundation’s Job Quality Index reported that growth in the jobs that pay above the median weekly wage exceeded net employment growth in lower paying jobs by 1.1 million. No consolation if you are out of work, but the economy is getting better.

Snohomish

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