First of all, if you read the article in the OP you'd know that the author used a different method for calculating the "misery index" (see his second to last paragraph). Second, google him and you'll see that he's a Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins so I doubt he would be foolish enough to blindly combine numbers that would result in an apples to oranges comparison. Your comment about the article without knowing the methodology shows your bias so take shadow stats and stick it.
Well I already did point out that he used a "different method" calculating some number that he's incorrectly termed the "misery index." But, you see, words have meanings and whatever he's calculated is not the misery index. So yes, by his misery index Bush II did better than Obama, just like if you measure in fluorescent hogsheads a Ford Pinto has better acceleration than a Jaguar. I used to own a 20 year old Volkswagen Beetle that wouldn't out-accelerate anything, including pets. If only I had employed his statistical technique of just comparing it to the previous car I owned and calling that number acceleration! The scary thing is, somewhere out there there are Volkswagen owners stupid enough to believe it. What really made me laugh was the fact that this guy is a professor at a respected school in BALTIMORE.
No, I've noted several similarities. Both exponentially increasef the size and scope of government. Both add to the deficit to the tune of trillions within the first half of their first terms in office. Both trample on the constitution. Both spend absurd amounts of taxpayer money on personal vacations in the midst of horrible recessions. Both either start or continue expensive, pointless wars. Hell at least Bush's invasion of Afghanistan was legitimate. Now nearly 10 years later we have no business there... Neither shut down gitmo, and both failed to secure borders. Both have hosted some of the worst economic times since the great depression, and neither made any meaningful progress towards repairing it. Both have created billions of dollars worth of parasitic pointless new departments, action commitees, bloated beauracracies ad infinitum. I could go on all night, and I've listed several of these points before, you have just chosen to ignore them. As I said, the only meaningful difference in policy is healthcare. They are both big government shills. The rhetoric is very different, but the actual policy is more or less the same. Just because you are stupid enough to buy into the false left/right dichotomy doesn't mean that's reality. Reality is that the policy has been overwhelmingly similar. If you want to knit pick you can find multiple differences, however there are very few substantial and meaningful ones. Are you really saying that MA doesn't have higher taxes than TX? Are you really stupid enough to try to argue that?? ROFL!! I guess I shouldn't be suprised at this point... Btw universities are non profit and/or not for profit and pay little to no taxes wherever they are... Not that I'd expect someone like you to know that... It would help if you'd ever actually attended university... LOL!!!! Appology accepted. Like I said before, I realize lying is probably just part of your mental disorder and making false ad hominems are one of the few tools you have to even hope to win any debate... Regan also quoted Gorby and soviet officials. That doesn't mean he agreed with them. I don't expect your limited critical thinking skills to grant you understanding of that point, but ponder it for a while... He wasn't talking about Iraq exclusively. He was talking about the war in the middle east. Just because whoever posted it on youtube wrote it in the description doesn't mean it's a 100 pct accurate description. Then again, we've already established that your critical thinking leaves something to be desired. However, even if we take your false standard, he said that the first thing he would do when he was in office was to bring our troops home. It's been a couple years now and it still isn't done. Even by your false standards, he's lied. Your unwillingness to acknowledge this fact is a testament to your intellectual and moral bankruptcy. But thanks again for reinforcing all of my points...
Well, I'll grant you one thing -- you have unequivocally established that you don't understand the meaning of the word "exponentially." By the way, federal public sector payroll is down and state and local public sector payroll is down. Yes, I didn't think you could point out in the transcript where he was referring to anything except Iraq. But you certainly made a lot of noise. Congratulations once again on your big win -- once again your ego has been reinforced. I had an ego once, but then I got married.
I'm sorry for attacking this fine economist from one of Baltimore's finest economics schools and his correct calculations of whatever the hell he just made up. Now, whenever I refer to the "misery index" I'll be referring to his numbers which, although they don't match anything like the actual misery index, and are calculated from various unemployment calculations which don't match, I'll know that according to some metric that Bush II was better for the economy than Obama has been in this short time -- although I'll still be scratching my head as to what the hell these numbers mean.
By the way, federal public sector payroll 1. I would to see a real stat for that - not some silly model. 2. If that is the case... then you must not be counting all the outsourcing being done to company's with Federal contracts. So many people around me now have stickers on the car wihich get them into military govt parking lots - its crazy. next time you are in a north san diego count parking and you see a new sporty car in the BMW price range... check for govt contractor sticker in the drivers side dash. I have noticed those for years because my room mate had one years ago. There is an epidemic of them now. 2 for 2 on those new porsche's in the last week.
Public sector payroll is down at least 120,000. At the very least you recognize that the census workers are no longer on the payroll, right? So it only makes sense that even just counting them public sector payroll is down. Here's an article about it. You guys realize that you're posting on a trading site and that this is business news, of course. I don't get how people would trade without following the business news: http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/morning-report/2010-09-06.html
Yes, you are sorry. You don't know jack shit about his study, just like you don't know jack shit about global warming, just like you don't know jack shit about being a fiscal conservative. Piss off troll.
Oh great, real nice, now you've made me cry. All you had to post was "the misery index is whatever we want it to be", but no, you had to go and hurt my feelings. How am I going to explain this soaked shirt and my red eyes to my wife?