Do you think it is misleading to say tax revenues and GDP are the highest they have ever been?

Question

and then use that as proof tax cuts for the rich work?

Below are historical GDP and tax revenues values. They are in current dollars and inflation adjusted constant dollars. I prefer the ones that take into account inflation.

http://www.bea.gov/national/xls/gdplev.xls
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/sheets/hist01z3.xls

If you were to plot real GDP ( in chained 2000 dollars), you would see that every single president since atleast FDR could have said the economy was the largest it has ever been. Every single president stepped out off office with tax revenues larger then when he first stepped into office.

However, when you start comparing the percent increase in real GDP, tax revenues, median wages, etc, etc, you will see that the economy does indeed do better when keynesian Democrats run the country.

COUPLE OF EXAMPLES

1) Here are the percent increase in real GDP for various presidents:

FDR 177.51% (from 32' to 45')
FDR 88.14% (from 32' to 41', without WWII)
JFK/LBJ 46.00%
CLINTON 33.81%
REAGAN 30.63%
BUSH JR 16.55% (from 00' to 06')

http://www.bea.gov/national/xls/gdplev.xls

2) Here is the percent increase in inflation adjusted tax revenues:

FDR 447.54% (40' to 44', only data available)
CLINTON 57.91%
JFK/LBJ 37.63%
REAGAN 20.16%
BUSH JR 4.44% (assuming predictions up to 2008 hold)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/sheets/hist01z3.xls

For the H troll that I know will be reading this.

Let me remind you once again, real GDP takes INFLATION into account. Don't go using the regular GDP values and then say I made a mistake.

commonsense,

Yes, there's a big conspiracy theory behind everything. Nothing is to be trusted, not the census, bureau of economic affairs, treasury department, american meteorology society, national academy of science, etc, etc.

It must be fun to live in a world where you can discount facts that you don't like, accuse third party sources of being biased, and then make up your own reality.

Cons believe tax cuts for the rich work better then government investing in the people through education and job training. No amount of facts will convince them otherwise.

That is why I think cons live in a faith-based reality. They believe in these ideas regardless of the facts.

Answer 1

It is not misleading if it is true. It means that the economy is good. What is wrong with saying that? The Bush tax cuts were for everyone not just the rich.

Answer 2

Everything runs in cycles, our debt is out of control and higher, taxes are higher as people forget sales tax and other revenue tax. Unfortunately these published figures are not correct as they administrations skew the results of each program. If we truly knew what the debt and taxes were we would faint!!