Our guest blogger is Sarah Ayres, a Research Associate at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the first round of the Bush tax cuts. Back then, proponents of the Bush tax package claimed it was necessary to create jobs, reduce the national debt, and spur economic growth. None of that happened. I put together the following charts to illustrate just how badly the Bush tax plan has failed to live up to its promises:
— No job creation — the employment population ratio has dropped from a height of 63.9 in May 2001 to its current level of 58.5.
— Ballooning debt — public debt has tripled in the years since the Bush tax cuts were enacted, from $3.4 trillion in 2000 to $9.7 trillion today.
— Stunted economic growth — U.S. GDP increased a mere 17% from 2001–2010, significantly less than the 40% growth of the previous decade.
For more on the legacy of the failed Bush tax cuts, see here, here and here.