Economics: 2004

Looking over the past 12 months, the United States once again out perform the world as the job machine continued to hum along. While many have described the 2004 economy as sluggish, United States grew at a 4.4% rate, which lead the developed nations including the EU and Japan. The United States growth was nearly three times the rate of the Euro zone. The Wall Street Journal editorial page noticed that the last time, “Britain, France and Germany had growth rates at or in excess of 4.4%, the years were 1990, 1994, 1989 and 1991, respectively.” While workforce participation has declined over the past four years, more Americans work as a percentage than anywhere else in the developed nations. And as important, unemployed Americans are three times more likely to find a job within 12 months than their nearest competitor. In France, nearly one third of Frenchmen who lost their jobs will still be looking for a job a year later whereas nearly 92% of Americans will find new opportunities. The American economy flexibility allows workers more prospects to pursue their dreams.

Compared to past years, growth in 2004 has been substantial. As the Wall Street Journal reported, “So let's look at the data again. From 1997 through 2000--the great Clinton go-go years--U.S. growth averaged 4.25%. For Mr. Clinton's first term, the average was 3.3%. For the eight years of the Reagan presidency, it was 3.4%. By what standard, then, can this year's forecasted 4.4% be described as sluggish?” If you read the daily newspaper over the past year, you would think that we were involved in a recession, if not outright depression. Just the past year saw the creation of 2.2 million new jobs that was close to the administration forecast.

Article Author: Tom Donelson

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