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Updated for 2008, it's "Just the Facts, Folks!"

July 14, 2008

Back by popular demand, it's "Just the Facts," the IBEW's graphic depiction of the national economy under Democrats versus Republicans since 1969. Hint: Republicans in the White House preside over higher unemployment and deficit spending than Democrats.

First printed in 2000, “Just the Facts” has gone through several revisions, said IBEW Political/Legislative Department Director Brian Baker. Through the George W. Bush years, the graph continues the trend of record-high deficits followed by higher rates of unemployment.

“The Democratic Party is often labeled as a party of big spenders, but if you look, you’ll see that it’s not the Democrats,” Baker said, noting the graph’s simplicity. “You don’t have to be an economist to understand the story that this graph tells.”

Using figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Office and Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office, the graph paints a picture of the how the policies of each president since Richard Nixon affect the economy.

In 2008 the national deficit – the amount the government is spending in the red – is projected to climb to nearly $400 billion. The lowest monthly unemployment rate since 1970 was 3.8 percent under President Clinton but in May 2008, unemployment is again on the rise, reaching 5.5 percent, a significant increase from last year.