It’s a big fat election year, and this time it’s all about the economy. Here are three charts of major economic indicators, showing which party controlled the House, Senate, and Presidency since 1950, when charts were invented. Granted, it’s a simplistic view, but it’s a conversation starter. Maybe the conversation could start with, “there must be more to the success or failure of our economy than which party’s in charge. Who’s ready for more troutcakes?”

The charts have some numbers and lines and stuff. The red boxes indicate Republican (greedy, racist, war-loving hillbillies) control, and the blue boxes show Democrat (lazy, childish, tree-hugging druggies) control. I kid about the stereotypes. I kid! We’ll get into those in an upcoming post (about how all the Democrat ones are true). I kid again! (mostly)

WARNING: This will be extremely graphic. Ha ha ha ha ha. Sorry. You can click the chart for a closeup.

Unemployment Rate:

National Debt:

The Dow:

So, one thing jumps out at me – for frick’s sakes we’re in debt, and both parties are should be in timeout for that one. Time to cut up the credit cards, unload the Escalade, dial up Craigslist for a late 90′s Camry, and stay off the hooch. Tough choices ahead.

Big biggie: I must admit, I expected to have some “ahoy moment” when I researched this data, revealing some power balance formula that translates to economic success. What I found was a lack of any conclusive relationship between party power and these basic economic indicators, especially going back to the fifties and sixties.

So, what do you do? Sit out the vote? No, just the opposite. Seems to me the lack of a correlation means legacy politics don’t really work. Party positions change to meet the times, so let’s look at what specific politicians are doing lately about jobs, education, the environment, and the government’s role in it all, rather than blindly pick a party because we always have.