1: The unemployment rate is an astonishing 4.9%, according to the latest Labor Dept. figures - that's lower than the average for the 70's, 80's, and 90's.
2: In 2005 the U.S. averaged a net increase of nearly 200,000 new jobs a month, according to The Wall Street Journal.
3: About 4.5 million more Americans are working today than in May 2003, before the Bush tax cuts, calculates The Journal.
4: The U.S. Economy has generated $750 billion in new personal income in the past 17 months, according to The Wall Street Journal.
5: Hourly wages rose 3.1% in 05, according to the Labor Dept., the fastest rate in 3 years, while personal spending for the year rose 3.5%, reports CNN.
6: In 2005 total American household net worth reached a value of $51 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve, an all-time high. This is almost double the level of wealth in 1995!
7: Core Inflation is only 2.1%, according to the Labor Dept.
8: Business profits have increased at double-digit rates for nine straight quarters, reports economist Larry Kudlow. That has happened only 3 times in 55 years. In fact, after-tax earnings running at 8% of America's Gross Domestic product (GDP) - a record high!
9: According to The Chicago Sun-Times, thanks to tax cuts, gov't revenues grew - and the deficit decreased by $96 billion from fiscal year 2004 to FY 2005. In fact, in 2005 deficit came in at just 2.6% of GDP, compared to GDP in 1985. Despite endless predictions about the deficit threatening interest rates, the 10-year Treasury yield is well below where it was in 2000, when we had that phony Clinton budget "surplus".
10: The U.S. Dollar is strong and rising against other world currencies such as the Euro and the Yen - it's up 10% versus the Euro in the past 8 months alone. Foreign capital is surging toward the dollar to take advantage of the excellent returns it can realize on U.S. investments.
As Heritage Foundation economist Tim Kane observes, 2005 was one of the best, economically, in the past 25 years. So why the negative vibes across the fruited plain? The media, pure and simple.