Jackie Cukrovany – 5/12/08

This page was last updated on May 12, 2008.

Quite a contrast; Jackie Cukrovany; Beaver County Times; May 12, 2008.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Franklin D. Roosevelt, our great president, got us out of a depression.”

[RWC] I’ll give Ms. Cukrovany the benefit of the doubt and assume she’s merely repeating the myth of FDR and believes it’s true.

Check the Bureau of Economic Analysis website and you’ll find the economy had already bottomed out and was recovering – albeit slowly – at about the time FDR took office. You’ll also find a recession took place in 1937/1938, sending unemployment up from about 14% to about 19%. Unemployment never got below 9.9% before the U.S. entered World War II.

“George W. Bush, our worst president, has driven our country into a depression.”

[RWC] Once again the facts don’t support the propaganda.

The eight-month (March-November) 2001 recession began during Bill Clinton’s last fiscal year (10/00 – 9/01) and ended during the second month of President Bush’s first fiscal year (10/01 – 9/02). Beginning with the fourth quarter of 2001, we’ve had 26 consecutive quarters (6 1/2 years) of GDP growth, including the first quarter of 2008. Again, check for yourself at the BEA website.