AND BETTER:

Policy Memorandum: A Historical Comparison of the Current Economic Expansion (WhiiteHouse.gov)

To: Interested Parties

From: The White House

Date: January 20, 2006

Introduction

The American economy has exhibited tremendous strength and resiliency during the President’s years in office. When comparing the economy with the same point in the previous business cycle, in many respects the current expansion is even stronger than the growth of the early and mid-nineties. This memo highlights some of those economic comparisons.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the last recession ended in November 2001. After four years of solid growth, the unemployment rate in December 2005 was 4.9%, inflation is contained, GDP growth is strong, and more Americans now own their homes than at any other time in our Nation's history. One of the most encouraging measures of the Nation's current economic strength is the rise in worker productivity – during this recovery, productivity has increased at the fastest rate since World War II. Over time, productivity growth leads to higher standards of living.

In April 1995, four years after the recession of the early 1990s came to an end, unemployment and inflation were higher than they are today, and GDP growth was lower. In spite of a stock market collapse, recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, high energy costs, and natural disasters, today's economy has remained resilient. A comparison with the economic recovery of the previous business cycle illustrates our current strength.

The graph is fascinating.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 21, 2006 11:50 AM