RHETORIC VS. REALITY

GOP RHETORIC ON THE ECONOMY:
President Bush, Press Conference, 8/21: At his press conference, President Bush also stated, "I'd be running on the economy. ... I'd say, look at what the economy has done. It's strong."
REALITY:
· President Bush has the worst job creation record of any President since the Great Depression.
· The income of a typical American family has fallen every year of the Bush Presidency, and many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

· Under the Bush economy, at the same time that family incomes are stagnant or falling, the costs facing average families are rising - from gas prices to health care to college tuition.
· Gas prices have reached the second highest level in history, doubling to nearly $3.00 a gallon ($2.93); and the price of oil is nearly $72 a barrel.
· Family health insurance costs have risen by 70 percent (an average of $4,500 per family) since 2000.
· College tuition has risen by 57 percent at public universities and by 32 percent at private universities since 2000.


GOP RHETORIC ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:
President Bush, Press Conference, 8/21: At his press conference today, President Bush stated that, in the November election, Republican candidates should run on the issue of fiscal responsibility and decreasing the deficit.
REALITY:
· President Bush and the Republicans have run up the three largest budget deficits in history.
· President Bush has presided over the worst fiscal reversal in our nation's history - turning a $5.6 trillion 10-year surplus into a $3.0 trillion 10-year deficit.
· Since 2001, President Bush and the Republicans have had to increase the national debt limit four times so far - increasing it by $3 trillion.
· Under President Bush, the national debt is projected to double to more than $11 trillion by the end of the decade - burdening our children and grandchildren for decades to come.
· President Bush's policies never achieve a balanced budget over the next 10 years - with a projected deficit of $485 billion in 2016 under realistic assumptions.
· President Bush has borrowed more money from foreign countries than the previous 42 U.S. Presidents combined.