Economic Snapshot

Because the MSM invariably buries or distorts good news:

Growth:


source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

Employment (unemployment rate):


source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Earnings (Average Hourly Earnings/Production Workers):


source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Retail Sales:


source: Census Bureau via SeekingAlpha and MaxedOutMama. According to the Toronto Star, "The increase [0.6 % in September] was double the gain that economists had been expecting."

Inflation (Consumer Price Index):


source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Average Federal Income Tax Rates:


source: Tax Foundation via Cato Institute via Greg Mankiw. As Cato's Chris Edwards observes, "The Bush tax cuts substantially reduced tax rates for people in every income group. Indeed, those at the bottom had the largest relative reductions in their tax rates"--a fact Democrats never acknowledge.

Federal Budget Balance:


source: Treasury Department as well as The White House, which notes that the deficit "is just 1.2 percent of the economy."