The Wonk Room

Bushonomics = McCainonomics: Corporations Win, Families Lose

In a new report from the Center for American Progress, Senior Fellow Scott Lilly chronicles the “extraordinary transfer of wealth that took place between ordinary households and the extremely well-to-do” during the past eight years under President George W. Bush.

Under Bush’s mismanagement, workers’ real wages have declined even as corporate profits have skyrocketed, bountiful surpluses have been squandered into deep deficits, and the real engine of sustainable American growth — the middle-income American family — is straining under household debt, record gas prices, and the spiraling costs of health care.

Check out these charts from Scott Lilly’s report:

- Household incomes are down:

- Corporate profits are up:

- The richest 1% of Americans experienced the greatest income growth:

And yet, McCain wants to double Bush’s tax cuts for corporations and the richest Americans, increase the deficit with budget busting tax breaks, and burden middle class families with a flawed health care scheme that would raise taxes on many and deliver worse coverage to most. For American families, Senator McCain would do a heckuva job.