Tax Reform: ‘A Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity’

Tax Reform Called ‘The Best Way To Accelerate Economic Growth’

BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE CEO SURVEY: “Eighty-two percent of CEOs say that reform will prompt companies to increase capital spending, and 76 percent will increase hiring, the CEOs report. ... Corporate tax reform is also the best way to accelerate economic growth over the next year, 71 percent of the survey respondents say.” (“New CEO Survey: Tax Reform Will Lead To More Jobs And U.S. Investment,” Business Roundtable, 5/4/2017)

• “One hundred and twenty-three CEOs responded to the Business Roundtable survey, conducted between April 12 and April 25.” (“New CEO Survey: Tax Reform Will Lead To More Jobs And U.S. Investment,” Business Roundtable, 5/4/2017)

President Obama’s Record: ‘The Slowest U.S. Recovery Since WWII,’ ‘Markedly Weaker [Even] Than Previous Low Growth Periods’

CNN: ‘This Is The Slowest U.S. Recovery Since WWII’ “The U.S. economy has only grown 2% a year since it bottomed out in June 2009. That's far below the typical growth in rosy times of over 4% a year that the U.S. has experienced since World War II.” (“Yes, This Is The Slowest U.S. Recovery Since WWII,” CNN, 10/5/2016)

CRS: “…the current economic recovery is the slowest recovery seen in the post-WWII period era. Real GDP has grown at an average pace of 2.0% per year during the current recovery, compared with an average rate of 4.3% during the previous 10 expansions.” (“Economic Growth Slower Than Previous 10 Expansions,” Congressional Research Service, 7/13/2016)

• CRS: “Between 2008 and 2015, economic growth has been, depending on the indicator, one-quarter to one-half the long-term average since World War II. Economic performance has been variable throughout the post-war period, but recent growth is markedly weaker than previous low growth periods, such as 1974 to 1995.” (“Slow Growth In The Current U.S. Economic Expansion,” Congressional Research Service, 6/24/16)

• CRS: “The economy is now 34 quarters into the current business cycle, and real GDP is only about 10% above its previous peak, in comparison to the 1980 business cycle in which real GDP increased by more than 30% after 34 quarters.” (“Economic Growth Slower Than Previous 10 Expansions,” Congressional Research Service, 7/13/2016)

Labor Force Participation Rate ‘Hovering Near A Four-Decade Low’

“From the late 1970s up until the Great Recession, the percentage of people in the labor force for the most part was on the upswing. But in 2007, the year the recession started, the proportion of people in the labor force started to fall. …the rate of potential workers in the labor force has been hovering near a four-decade low since the start of 2014.” (“U.S Labor Participation Rate Is Lowest Since `70s,” Politifact, 6/13/2016)

• Washington Post Editorial: “The shrinkage of the U.S. labor force reflects the U.S. economy’s current weakness — and threatens to perpetuate it.” (Editorial, “Slowing The Decline In The Size Of The Labor Force,” Washington Post, 9/7/13)

After Two Terms Of President Obama ‘The Middle Class Is No Longer The Majority In America’

“The middle class is no longer the majority in America.” (“America’s Middle Class Is No Longer the Majority,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/09/2015)

• “The nation's middle class, long a pillar of the U.S. economy and foundation of the American dream, has shrunk to the point where it no longer constitutes the majority of the adult population, according to a new major study.” (“Middle-Class Families, Pillar Of The American Dream, Are No Longer In The Majority, Study Finds,” Los Angeles Times, 12/09/2015)

• PEW: “After more than four decades of serving as the nation’s economic majority, the American middle class is now matched in number by those in the economic tiers above and below it. In early 2015, 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households, compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined, a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.” (“The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground,” Pew Research Center, 12/9/15)

In 2015 ‘Median Household Income … Lower Than In 2007’

NEW YORK TIMES: “The median household income [in 2015] was still 1.6 percent lower than in 2007, adjusting for inflation. It also remained 2.4 percent lower than the peak reached during the boom of the late 1990s.” (The New York Times, 9/13/16)

• CENSUS BUREAU: Median household income was $56,516 in 2015 vs. $57,423 in 2007 (2015 dollars). (U.S. Census: Income, Table H-9, Accessed 4/27/17)

18 Million Americans Added To The Food Stamp Rolls Since 2007

In 2016, 44,219,363 Americans were on food stamps. (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 4/7/2017)

• In 2007, 26,316,000 Americans were on food stamps. (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Costs,” U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 4/7/2017)