Investment Returns - Democratic vs Republican

I'm sure there are many problems with this analysis, including the fact that it factors in only the executive and not control of the legislative branch, but at first glance the difference was quite stunning.

"Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years. So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole? Well, here’s an experiment: imagine that during these years you had to invest exclusively under either Democratic or Republican administrations. How would you have fared?

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years."

If you look more closely though, you'll see that with the exception of Nixon and Dubya, Republican Presidents have done better than Democratic Presidents. Returns under Democratic presidents have been comparatively anemic, with Clinton being the standout on the Democratic side (no doubt fueled by those years of "irrational exuberance").