The U.S. Labor Department reported the U.S. economy created 339,000 jobs in May and that the unemployment rate came in at 3.7%, up from 3.4% in April. It was the 28th straight month of positive job growth and over shocked the usual negative voices who predicted only 160,000 jobs would be created. So the negative doom and gloom voices who have predicted an economic recession for the last 15 months now say maybe before the end of the year. They want to see it so bad it is driving them crazy. The negative voices have been wrong on the economy for the past 28 months, ever since Biden took office.
There are so many ignorant voices on the economy just like there are on the federal budget. Opinion writer Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post in a New Orleans Advocate of 6/6 titled, "What the heck is going on in the U.S. economy?" still don't understand and offers several suggestions. The key to the economy is jobs because consumer spending represents 70% of the economy according to the CBO. Democrats understand that and that is why their priority policy is related to job creation. And precedent over the past 92 years supports that. From 1929 -2021 when Trump left office seven Democratic Presidents and 8 Republican Presidents served a total of 92 years. Democrats 48 years, Republicans 44 years.
Those democratic administrations created 84.1 million net jobs and none lost jobs. Those republican administration created 25.5 million net jobs and the administrations of Herber Hoover lost 6.4 million jobs and Trump lost 2.7 million jobs. So far, the Biden administration has created a reported 13 million jobs in his 28 months in office, a record not included in the above numbers. Past PolitiDose commentary has broken down each President's job creation separately. Past PolitiDose commentary has also called the shots how the Obama and Biden administrations would bring the economy back with job creation, lower unemployment, lower deficits and reduced increases in federal spending and did so before they took office. Precedent was on their side, the reason being that democratic administrations govern with policies and plans that address the issues at hand. The GOP govern with ideology, an extreme one at that and tax cuts for you know who that never address the issues. The disparity in job creation between the two parties tell an accurate story why the economy does so much better on the democratic watch.
Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump all cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy that were supposed to do wonders for the economy and job creation but all three administrations gave the country an economic recession, 20 years of unbalanced budgets, record deficits and federal spending at the time. Clinton raised taxes on those same folks, balanced the budget with surpluses and created more jobs in 8 years than Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump did in the 24 years they served. Yes, my fellow Americans, precedent and policy tell the real story and how that can be a gauge to judge the future.
What has taken place in that 92 year period is not a coincidence and is still playing out before our very eyes this day. As the Sumerians said they were taught almost 6,000 years ago, "understanding the mistakes of the past is still the key to a better future" is alive and well. And for the GOP, their future has been like their failed past. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
