Factchecking the State of the Union

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Analysis

Jobs and Wages
Bush put the best face he could on the weak job growth and stagnant wages plaguing the economy, which many economists fear is on the brink of the second recession to strike his administration.

Bush: America has added jobs for a record 52 straight months, but jobs are now growing at a slower pace. Wages are up, but so are prices for food and gas.

It's true that the number of consecutive months in which the economy has added jobs is the longest on record, but the number of jobs gained is not. The pace of job creation was far stronger during the Clinton administration, when 22.7 million new jobs were added despite seven months that saw slight declines. Since Bush's "record" run began in August 2003, the gain has been 8.3 million. It's true that wages are up: Average weekly earnings for rank-and-file workers were $605.96 in December 2007, compared with $578.67 a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But after adjustment for rising prices, the buying power of the average weekly paycheck actually declined by nearly a penny on the dollar during 2007.

Tax Increase, "Average" vs. Typical
The president, using an accurate but misleading figure, exaggerated the effect on the typical taxpayer of allowing his tax cuts to expire.

Bush: Unless the Congress acts, most of the tax relief we have delivered over the past seven years will be taken away. Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800.

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Posted By: ETerrell @ 02/14/2008 12:41:49 PM

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation also published a study on the State of the Union on the spending that would be incurred from the projects mentioned. A release on the study is available at http://www.ntu.org/main/press.php?PressID=990&org_name=NTUF . The entire break down is available at :http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=143 .
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Posted By: DUMPLIN @ 01/31/2008 4:46:17 PM

YOU FOLKS IN THE MEDIA SHOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF YOURSELVES. YOU HAVE MANAGED TO TWIST AND ACTUALLY LIE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TO MAKE SO MANY BELIEVE THAT THINGS ARE SO BAD IN AMERICA BECAUSE OF REPUBLICAN POLICIES. WHY DO HATE AMERICA SO MUCH?
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Posted By: alwaysAlabama @ 01/30/2008 10:36:30 PM

Recession is a nicer word for the term depression. It is quite obvious when the average people are unable to maintain a decent standard of living on a continous basis there are problems the government has not resolved. The war of Iraq, and talk of the threat of Iran should not be of the agenda of America. Bank loans are out of reach, school loans are declining, evidence of apparent hunger in this country, jobs are fewer and prices continue to rise no amount of tough talk from the president of USA can by any means apply reasoning to a nation that has not seen any prosperity under his administration. If I was able to show President George W. Bush appreciation for his services he would walk back to Texas.