Franken-Lies-And-the-Lying-Liars-Who-Tell

lege, and she lost seventeen of those three million jobs. Four at Bear Stearns, two in the nonprofit
sector, and one, ironically, in a job placement agency. 1
I am a nut for statistics. Because numbers don't lie. Here's one that I think is particularly
telling. During the six-plus years that the two Bushes have been president, there has not
been one new net job created. Not one. Extrapolating from that, if the Bushes had run this
country from its very inception to the present day, not a single American would have ever
worked.
The idea that tax cuts for those at the very top will stimulate job creation is called supplyside,
trickle-down, or "voodoo" economics. The concept is simple. By giving those at the top,
who are, in theory, the most productive Americans, a tax break, you will motivate them to
work even harder and create more wealth, more jobs, and a bigger pie for everyone.
That reasoning explains why, when Bill Clinton wanted to raise taxes on the top 1
percent in 1993 to deal with the then-record deficit, Republicans said his plan would cause a
recession. Here's a sampling.
I believe this will lead to a recession next year. This is the Democrat machine's recession,
and each one of them will be held personally accountable.
-Newt Gingrich, August 5, 1993
The Clinton plan is a one-way ticket to recession. This plan does not reduce the
deficit ... but it raises taxes and it puts people out of work.
Senator Phil Gramm,
July 28, 1993
This plan will not work. If it was to work then I'd have to become a Democrat and
believe that more taxes and bigger government is the answer.
Representative John Kasich, R-OH
4 July 28, 1993
So every Republican in Congress voted against Clinton's Deficit Reduction Act. It passed in
both houses by one vote. (Gore broke the tie in the Senate.) The next eight years saw the
1 Actually, she's an elementary school teacher in the Bronx, which I think is great. Though, given the state
of the New York City economy, risky.