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Through tax relief and a more responsible federal budget, Congress has been working to enact policies to help our nation recover from the economic distress caused by the attacks on our homeland, corporate scandals, the bursting of the tech bubble and the demands of funding the War on Terror. Polices enacted over the past several years, especially the tax cuts of 2002 and 2003, are working--and there are plenty of "stats" to prove it.
Recent reports show that our economy is strong and getting stronger. So far this year federal tax receipts are up 15 percent and state receipts are up 7.5 percent. In Oklahoma, per capita personal income relative to the nation has jumped from 82 percent to 86 percent since 2000 according to a report from Oklahoma State University. In 2004, personal income tax receipts increased 8.8 percent, retail sales tax increased 6.2 percent, and oil and gas severance taxes spiked 13.5 percent to nearly $740 million.
The gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic standing, increased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent from January through March, according to revised figures released by the Commerce Department last Wednesday. Small business and consumer confidence level are sky-high. Our homeownership rate hit a record high 69% in 2004, and minority homeownership reached record levels (51.6%) in the first quarter of this year.
More Americans are working than ever before in our nation's history. At a national level the payroll report showed that 146,000 jobs were created last month. Almost 3.5 million jobs have been created across the country since May of 2003, and the economy has grown jobs for the last 25 straight months. Our nation’s unemployment rate is 5.0%--that’s 1.3 percentage points lower than its peak of 6.3% in June of 2003. The current rate is below the averages of the 1970’s (6.2%), 1980’s (7.3%) & 1990’s (5.8%).
Building an economy that fosters entrepreneurship— the true engine of job growth and the backbone of our economy—is essential to this continued economic growth. To build upon this progress, I will continue to support policies that reign in federal spending and help grow our economy. |
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