GDP Grew 45 Times Faster Under Presidents With Little Or No Business Experience

Writing in the Washington Post, historian Robert S. McElvaine, author of The Great Depression: America 1929-1941 observes:

Historically, a Democrat without business experience has been extraordinarily better for the economy and the stock market than a Republican who had a career in business. In the past 84 years, GDP has grown 7 percent per year under Democrats without business experience (FDR, JFK, LBJ, Clinton and Obama) and fallen by 0.2 percent per year under Republicans with business experience (Hoover and the two Bushes). The Dow has risen an average of 16.8 percent per year under Democrats without business experience and has fallen by 3.7 percent per year under Republicans with business experience.

He concludes: “If you want to live like a successful Republican businessperson, vote for a Democrat without business experience."

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