What Recession?

Cross-posted from McCain Victory 08.

Will the Democrats continue to bash John McCain and President Bush for the awful economy? You know the one that is in recession. Well, not so much.

NEXT WEEK'S GOP Convention should highlight fact that this media "recession" meme is DEAD. Also US average incomes have as of 2006 (last year prior to the Obama-Biden Congressional takeover) officially surpassed that of the Clinton years (2000), according to latest Census & IRS releases.

Standard economic texts maintain anything over 3% is recognized as ABOVE AVERAGE post-war (WWII) US growth rate.

Economy Grew 3.3% in 2nd Quarter,
Much Higher Than Initial Reading
By KELLY EVANS [WSJ]
August 28, 2008 2:57 p.m.

The U.S. economy grew much faster than originally thought from April to June, but the pace is expected to slow over the rest of the year.

Gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.3% annual rate during the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department, which originally put growth at a 1.9% pace. The revision, released Thursday, reflects new data showing that exports were even stronger than first estimated and that business inventories weren't depleted as much as thought earlier.

[ . . . . ]


The report also indicated that inflation remains relatively muted.

Because the GDP data are volatile and revised several times before becoming final, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the nonprofit group that is the arbiter of recessions, will likely wait several months before determining if and when a U.S. recession began. The group doesn't follow the popular rule of thumb -- that a recession is two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. Instead, it scrutinizes a range of data, including employment and output.

A smaller trade gap -- due to growing exports and slowing imports -- combined to add 3.1 percentage points to the second-quarter GDP growth rate. Global demand for U.S. goods, bolstered by a weak dollar that makes those goods cheaper to customers abroad, has been a crucial source of strength for the economy. ...Read more!

Different Roads on Tax Policy

This Week at the Tax Foundation

McCain, Obama Take Different Roads on Tax Policy

In a recent Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact, Robert Carroll, the Foundation's Vice President for Economic Policy, examines tax relief proposals from Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama. With the economy as one of the top issues among the American electorate this presidential election cycle, both candidates have been using the issues of health care, gas prices, and housing devaluation, among others, to preface their economic proposals. But Carroll explains that the candidates have significantly different tax policies that address these issues.

"Senator Obama has included a set of carefully targeted tax proposals that narrowly aim benefits to specific types of taxpayers, while Senator McCain provides broad tax relief with benefits that are indirect," says Carroll. "In both cases, tax relief is provided to the vast majority of the electorate."

Read the new Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact. More on the presidential candidates' tax plans. ...Read more!