Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
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The Post had an interesting piece on the debate within the Republican party over economic policy. At one point the piece notes the stagnation in middle class incomes and then tells readers:
“There is a growing sense among many conservative economists that faster growth by itself will not suffice to lift those incomes at the rate middle-class workers came to expect a generation ago .”
This comment may mislead readers into believing that conservative policies of tax cuts and deregulation have been associated with faster growth. They haven’t.
The table below shows the average growth rate under the last six presidents (measured as first quarter of their term to first quarter of the next adminstration.)
Carter — 3.4%
Reagan — 3.4%
Bush I — 2.0%
Clinton –3.7%
Bush II — 1.6%
Obama — 2.2%
This record shows that tax cutting Republicans have done worse in promoting growth during their administrations than tax and spend Democrats. While Republican policies may not have been successful in producing gains for the middle class, they have also not done very well in promoting growth.