According to public opinion polls, most Americans feel the U.S. economy has been moving in the wrong direction. Indeed, an analysis of several important economic indicators shows they’re right. In apples-to-apples comparisons of annualized data, these indicators of the country’s economic well-being show mostly negative change during President George W. Bush’s administration, compared to mostly positive change during President Bill Clinton’s administration. Presidents obviously do not control everything that happens on their watch. But it is fair — and entirely appropriate — to judge how they play the economic hands they are dealt. Bush’s economic policies have diverged dramatically from Clinton’s, and PPI believes the disparities in economic outcomes under each administration are attributable at least in part to those policy choices.
This chart compares economic performance under the two administrations on a number of especially important fronts:
