JUST THE FACTS, FOLKS…

ROMNEY’S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AS GOVERNOR WAS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY

During Romney’s Tenure As Governor Massachusetts’ Economic Performance Was “One Of The Worst In The Country” On “All Key Labor Market Measures.” “As Mitt Romney pursues his bid for the presidency, his record as Massachusetts governor will come under scrutiny, including how the state’s economy performed during his administration. Our analysis reveals a weak comparative economic performance of the state over the Romney years, one of the worst in the country. On all key labor market measures, the state not only lagged behind the country as a whole, but often ranked at or near the bottom of the state distribution.” [Boston Globe, 7/29/07]

Boston Globe Op-Ed: “Few Working Men And Women In Massachusetts Should See Anything Funny About The State’s Lackluster Economic Performance During The Romney Years.” “A full-time governor who is deeply committed to the economic well-being of a state’s workers can, however, make some difference. The state unfortunately did not receive such leadership over most of the past four years. Jokes about Massachusetts may receive some half-hearted laughter on the national campaign trail, but few working men and women in Massachusetts should see anything funny about the state’s lackluster economic performance during the Romney years.” [Boston Globe, 7/29/07]

UNDER ROMNEY, MASSACHUSETTS WAS 47TH IN JOB CREATION

Factcheck.org: “Romney’s Jobs Record Provides Little To Boast About” As Massachusetts Only Gained 1% In Payroll Jobs Over His Term Compared To 5.3% In The Nation As A Whole. “Payroll jobs in Massachusetts hit their low point in December 2003 at the end of Romney’s first year in office. And the number of jobs declined in seven of the remaining 36 months of his term, as measured by total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, which is the standard measure of payroll employment used by economists and journalists. The claim that jobs increased “every single month” is false… Furthermore, Romney’s job record provides little to boast about. By the end of his four years in office, Massachusetts had squeezed out a net gain in payroll jobs of just 1 percent, compared with job growth of 5.3 percent for the nation as a whole.” [Factcheck.org, 1/11/08]

In Romney’s Four Years As Governor Massachusetts Ranked 47th Out Of 50 In Jobs Growth.  “The Republican contender was the governor of Massachusetts from January 2003 to January 2007. And during that time, according to the U.S. Labor Department, the state ranked 47th in the entire country in jobs growth. Fourth from last.  The only ones that did worse? Ohio, Michigan and Louisiana. In other words, two rustbelt states and another that lost its biggest city to a hurricane. The Massachusetts jobs growth over that period, a pitiful 0.9%, badly lagged other high-skill, high-wage, knowledge economy states like New York (2.7%), California (4.7%) and North Carolina (7.6%). The national average: More than 5%.” [Marketwatch, 2/23/10]

PolitiFact: “No Matter How We Sliced The Data” Massachusetts Was 47th Out Of 50 States In Job Creation Under Romney. PolitiFact said the of the statement: When Romney was governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 states in job creation, “Indeed, federal jobs numbers indicate that, no matter how we sliced the data, the state was 47th.”  [Politifact, 6/22/11]

UNDER ROMNEY GOVERNMENT JOB GROWTH INCREASED AT A RATE 6 TIMES THAT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Under Romney, State Government Employment Increase At 6 Times The Rate Of Private Sector Job Growth. [bls.gov, accessed 9/23/11]

Comparing The Last Full Month Before Romney Took Office And The Last Full Month Of Romney’s Administration, Romney’s Massachusetts Ranked 48th Out Of 50 States In Private Sector Job Growth. [Calculated from bls.gov, accessed 9/23/11]

UNDER ROMNEY, SPENDING AND DEBT IN MASSACHUSETTS WENT UP

State Spending Under Romney Increased By 6.5% Annually.  “So under Mr. Romney, state spending went from $22.3 billion to $28.1 billion, an annual increase of 6.5 percent. Adjusted for inflation, spending went from $20.7 billion to $21.6 billion, or a 1.1 percent increase.” [New York Times, 12/31/07]

•      Factcheck.org: It’s “Correct” That Romney Proposed 8% Higher Spending Per Person In Massachusetts. It “would have been correct to say, ‘Governor Romney proposed 8 percent higher spending per person in Massachusetts.’” [Factcheck.org, 10/12/07]

Under Romney, Massachusetts’ Long-Term Debt Increased By 16.4% Or $2.6 Billion. According to Massachusetts Information Statement Supplements attached to bond offerings, the Commonwealth had $16,063,162,000 in long-term debt as of January 1, 2003. As of October 1, 2006, shortly before Romney left the Governor’s Office, Massachusetts had $18,697,240,000 in long-term debt. This was an increase of $2,634,078,000 or 16.4%. [Massachusetts Office Of The Treasurer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Information Statement Supplement, 2/28/03, p. A-22; Massachusetts Office Of The Treasurer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Statement Of Information Supplement, 11/10/06, p. A-24]

2007: Massachusetts Was First In The Nation In Net Tax Supported Debt Per Capita.”Nevertheless, the Commonwealth’s debt burden remains among the highest in the nation by certain measures. Moody’s Investors Service ranks Massachusetts fourth in total net tax-supported debt, fourth in total gross tax-supported debt (down from third in 2007), second in net tax-supported debt as a percentage of personal income, and second in net tax-supported debt per capita (down from first in 2007).” [Governor’s Five Year Capital Investment Plan, accessed 4/22/11]

ROMNEY PROPOSED $5 TRILLION IN NEW TAX CUTS, ON TOP OF MAKING PERMANENT THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY, WHICH WOULD SHOWER MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES WITH EVEN MORE BENEFITS

Romney’s Tax Plan Includes An Extension Of The Bush Tax Cuts.“Governor Romney would permanently extend all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts now scheduled to expire in 2013.” [Tax Policy Center, The Romney Plan (updated), 3/1/12]

Under An Extension Of The Bush Tax Cuts, At Least 27.5% Of The Benefits Would Go To The Top 1%. [Tax Policy Center, Extend 2001-03 Tax Cuts and AMT Patch; Baseline: Current Law; Distribution by Cash Income Percentile, 9/14/10]

Center On Budget And Policy Priorities: Romney’s New Tax Cuts Would Cost $4.9 Trillion Over A Decade, On Top Of The Cost Of Extending The Bush Tax Cuts.“The Tax Policy Center estimates that the Romney tax plan would lose about $480 billion in tax revenue in calendar year 2015, beyond the revenues losses inherent in maintaining current policy (such as continuing all of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts).  Over the 2014-2022 period, that implies a total reduction in revenues of about $4.9 trillion, relative to current tax policy.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/21/12]

ROMNEY WOULD REPEAL WALL STREET REFORM AND ALLOW WALL STREET TO WRITE ITS OWN RULES AGAIN

Romney Pledge To Repeal Dodd-Frank But Has Been Silent On How He Would Prevent Wall Street From Engaging In The Risky Practices That Helped Cause The 2008 Financial Crisis.“Republican Mitt Romney is pledging, if he is elected president, to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, a position favored by donors on Wall Street who have sent millions the candidate’s way. But he is nearly silent on how – without the regulation – he would prevent Wall Street from once again engaging in the risky practices that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.” [Boston Globe, 5/2/12]

Romney Economics: It didn’t work for Massachusetts, and it won’t work for America.

Romney Economics: How Romney failed to deliver on his promises in Massachusetts

Or this Op Ed by Governor Deval Patrick:  Romney didn’t keep his promises in Massachusetts

Or this piece from John Perr, on how Romney’s Massachusetts record provides little to boast about:

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has continued his bizarre attacks on the President, this time embracing conspiracy theories:

As Wonkette put it, the Romney campaign is starting to get weird

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