Clinton Versus Bush Economy

Both economies were very strong, and in many ways, the current economy is even better according to Brian Wesbury.

President Clinton took office in January 1993, almost two years after the 1990-91 recession had ended. On the other hand, President Bush took office just two months before the 2001 recession began.
As a result, any economic comparison that uses four-year presidential terms is highly misleading. The Clinton years will always look better than the Bush years with that approach. A better analysis which compares the two business cycles from their previous trough, shows the opposite. The Bush economy is equal to or better than the Clinton economy in almost every area.

A lot of it depends on tax policy:

During the high-tax, highly regulated years between 1969 and 1982, the economy was in recession 32% of the time. Since then, following Ronald Reagan's tax cuts, and deregulation, and Paul Volcker's victory over inflation, the U.S. economy has only been in recession 5% of the time.

All Americans benefit:

While some argue that the growth in profits is a sign that greedy rich people are benefiting at the expense of workers, this is not shown in the data. Civilian job growth in the past five years is not statistically different than it was in the early '90s, while wages, for every income level, have experienced better performance.

Read the whole article here.

Tax Cuts Mean Growth

Case closed according to Fred Thompson in the Wall Street Journal:

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this success story is where the increased revenues are coming from. Critics claimed that across-the-board tax cuts were some sort of gift to the rich but, on the contrary, the wealthy are paying a greater percentage of the national bill than ever before.

The richest 1% of Americans now pays 35% of all income taxes. The top 10% pay more taxes than the bottom 60%.

Why it is so:

The reason for this outcome is that, because of lower rates, money is being invested in our economy instead of being sheltered from the taxman. Greater investment has created overall economic strength. Job growth is robust, overcoming trouble in the housing sector; and the personal incomes of Americans at every income level are higher than they've ever been.

Even many Democrats understand this (or understood this):

President John F. Kennedy was an astute proponent of tax cuts and the proposition that lower tax rates produce economic growth. Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan also understood the power of lower tax rates and managed to put through cuts that grew the U.S. economy like Kansas corn. Sadly, we just don't seem able to keep that lesson learned.

Read the whole article here.