The State of the Union 2007
What is the State of our Union this day?
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The State of the Union
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REAGAN
1987
|
CLINTON
1999
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BUSH
2007
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|
|
UNEMPLOYMENT
|
6.6%
|
4.4%
|
4.5%
|
|
BLACK
UNEMPLOYMENT |
13.7%
|
7.8%
|
8.4%
|
|
WAGE
PARITY FOR WOMEN |
65.1%
|
72.1%
|
76.7% [2005]
|
| WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION RATE |
65.7% |
67.4% |
66.7% |
|
HOME
OWNERSHIP |
63.8%
|
66.7%
|
69.0% [3RD QTR
06] |
|
PRIME
RATE |
7.5%
|
7.75%
|
8.25%
|
|
CPI-U
[82-84=100] |
113.6
|
166.6
|
201.6
|
| INFLATION RATE |
1.9% [1986 |
1.6% [1998 |
3.3% [2006 EST |
|
POVERTY RATE
|
13.4%
|
12.8%
|
12.6% [2005]
|
|
BLACKS
IN POVERTY |
32.4%
|
23.6%
|
24.7% [2005]
|
|
ELDERLY IN
POVERTY |
12.5% |
9.7% |
10.1% [2005] |
|
CHILDREN IN
POVERTY |
19.6% |
17.1% |
17.6% [2005] |
| GDP [IN BILLIONS] |
$4,412.4 [1986] |
$8,627.9 [1998] |
$11,443.5 [Q3 |
| FEDERAL DEBT [IN MILLIONS] |
$2,120,501. [1986] |
$5,478,189. [1998] |
$8,031,387. [EST |
| FED DEBT AS % OF GDP |
48.1% |
63.5% |
66.7% [EST |
|
EXEC
BRANCH CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES [THOUSANDS] |
2,113 [FTE
1986] |
1,778 [FTE
1998] |
1,877 [FTE
2006] |
Data contained in this analysis was found at the following sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Federal Reserve Bank Minneapolis
GPO Access
Special thanks to Ronald Reagan, without whom this article would not have been possible.
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[...] comparison of the state of the union at the same time in three different administrations: Reagan, Clinton, and G W Bush. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Are you using the same definition of poverty in all three years?
[EDITOR: Yes, from the Census report on Poverty in America.]
That teh poverty statistics come from the same source does not necessarilly mean it is the same definition. For example, does poverty in 2007 = poverty in 1987 x inflation? Or is it based upon real buying power? Or is it a moving scale? Not attacking the work, but I have little confidence in any government agency maintaining a consistent definition of so volitile a term.
The inflation rate under our current President is the most troubling
number. It is not surprising however, with the Federal Government
spending $1,000,000,000 each day that it doesn’t have. Lots of
that went into vastly inflated home prices. While that market
failing, it’ll be the middle class that takes all the damage.
Yet again.
Poverty figures are a moving target. No, they don’t mean the same thing from year to year or decade to decade. Federal debt is likewise a misleading figure, as much of that is the SS/Medicare trust funds, money the government owes to itself, an accounting fiction. External debt is the relevant number.