Is Your Corporation Better Off?

I am a bit tired of hearing one side of the story. Republicans are claiming that we are in an economic wasteland while Democrats want you think everything smells like roses. Of course, somewhere between the two extremes lies the truth.  I am here to attempt get both sides.  So here is my question for today... Are corporations better off?

Since approximately 81,000,000 Americans work at companies with more than 100 employees, I think both Democrats and Republicans can agree that people need profits to make a living, keep their jobs, and build their investments for retirement.

According to the UnitedStates Bureau of Economics, America's total corporate profits have exceeded the highest levels ever recorded (even adjusted for inflation). In fact, during Obama's second year in office American corporate quarterly profits averaged just shy of the previous peak in 2006 by 0.352%.

On the Republican side, this isn't good enough. It COULD have been even better. It hasn't lead to a significant drop in unemployent.  However, I think it is very difficult to say that somehow Obama's additional rules and taxes significantly hurt corporate profits.  If the GOP was in power the Democrats were the incumbent, they could cry foul and yell from their soapbox how fast corporate profits have grown while jobs have not seen the same increase.
What about the trajectory?

Looking at the data a bit differently by starting the clock from the quarter they took office, you can see that Obama's initial trajectory was much higher than George Bush's. In fact, in the first 13 quarters of their respective presidency, Bush's administration only saw corporate profits up $446.7 billion dollars per quarter where under the Obama administration, profits were up $768.7 billion dollars per quarter. Not quite double, but nobody was accusing Bush of stifiling corporations.  Additionally, within 3 quarters of taking office, profits were back to the pre-recession averages.  So of course, the Democrats might want this data shown to the independent and swing voters touting their economic victory over the GOPs previous leader.

So the question now poised by both sides... Are you better off than 4 years ago?  Is the company your working for better off?  Is the company you own stock in better off?  Keep in mind the following graph's arrow is pointed to September's Data when Bush still had 1 more quarter in office.

 

 

So what DO the Republicans say about this?  What DO Democrats say about this? I have no idea.  Please feel free to comment on both sides.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Are we better off: Introduction

A lot of attention has been paid to the question, "Are we better off then 4 years ago?"  I personally believed that a lot has heppened in 4 years that that both sides of the media have been telling half truths.  This blog is dedicated to bring whole truths to light.

As for me, I am a Republican turned Independent.  I was for George W. Bush in 2000.  I was for him in 2004 too.  I wanted him to find those WMD's and make the world a safer place.  But after time and time again of finding out that most of what I was told was not totally true, I became a skeptic.  Not just of Bush, but all politicians.  I noticing that I was controlled by fear.  I was afraid that if Bush was out of office and was replaced by Kerry that it would show ewakness in our Military.  That was no good.  So for 2008, still a card carrying Republican, I was enthusiastic about McCain.  I had been watching and listening to him and admired him for a long time.  I felt that this is a man that I can trust.  He built his campaign on straight shooting and a lot less mud flinging then the rest of the cantidates in the primaries.  I believed that this is what got him through and gave him the nomination.  Then came Sarah....

I was very excited to have a woman nominated for VP.  Having a woman as VP would be very historic and help McCain compete by both tickets having a minority (I know women are not a minority in population, but in government and corporations nobody can argue that they aren't under-represented).  But then she bagan to speak.

She began reasonable well rallying the troops with emotional sentiments but then it turned sour.  The mud flinging was in full swing and it became apparent that she would say anything that anybody in her party told her to say, regaurdless of truth.  Add to that when she started shooting from the hip it was obvious she knew very little about history, feorign relationships, or anything of importance to me.  It was a dissapointment.  I was also watching Fox News at the time.  They would have a clip of her saying and doing things that I found appauling but then the news anchors would sing her praise.  I got fed up with it and wondered what was going on.

In the end, my core beliefs had been comprimised.  I started questioning everything everybody said and eventually came to the conclusion that I would rather go with somebody that tells the truth, doesn't get caught up in the hype, and seems to listen to reason.  In other words, I would rather go with people I could trust but didn't agree with then those who had to lie and cheat even if I agreed with their platform.  Hence why I am independent now.  Both sides have done and said lies, half truths, and bold faced fraud.

So now all I want to do is help people understand both sides of issues and let you be the judge.