Bush deserves credit for years of growth

Stewart Truelsen of Hoffman Estates wrote in Fence Post "A good indicator of the economic legacy of George Bush and his party is the stock market performance for the years he was in office. It was the worst decade for stocks going back to the 1820s."

Under the Bush administration, the Dow Jones reached an all-time high of 14,000 during the time Bush was President. Following the devastating attacks of 9/11, which resulted in one million jobs lost, President Bush took decisive action by cutting taxes, tax cuts which led to 52 months of uninterrupted job growth across America.

Mr. Truelsen says Bush did not do anything to help college students.

President Bush fought to give younger Americans the option of putting some of their Social Security dollars into a private investment account, an account they would own and would accumulate over the decades that they work and contribute into the fund.

President Bush deserves blame for not identifying the recession earlier than he did. The economic collapse of 2008 was decades in the making. It is easy to sit back and criticize a former president and blame him for every bad thing that happened.

The facts speak for themselves: 14,000 Dow Jones high, 52 months of uninterrupted job growth, largest tax relief in a generation, and fighting to give younger Americans the option to save for their future. The "blame Bush" mentality is getting old.

Ryan Melchin

Hoffman Estates