Record on Economy

* Re “The Economic Sweepstakes Quiz,” Opinion, Oct. 15: What liberal propaganda! First, let’s assume his figures are accurate. There are several things wrong with Arthur I. Blaustein’s train of thought. He seems to think that what administrations have done in the past hasn’t set the stage for the present. Sure, Harry Truman presided over the largest growth in GDP. However, Blaustein forgets the Great Depression and World War II had set the stage for that growth. The U.S. had 16 years of pent-up demand. Similar cases can be made against his other assertions.

Blaustein states that the Dow Jones rose an average of 10.3% during the terms of Democratic presidents. Most of that rise in percentage occurred in the past 10 years. I would contend that the end of the Cold War has allowed corporate assets to become more fairly valued. The rise of technology in the past decade has increased productivity, thus the value of corporate assets. This leads one to conclude that the president, whether he is of one political party or the other, isn’t the prime factor in such growth.

TED BRYLA

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