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Are we doing better now?

WATU2

I.T.S. Hall of Famer
May 29, 2001
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Recognizing that Obama has been a far from perfect president and probably has had less influence on the course of economic events in the U.S. than he would like (e.g., since January 2009, the democrats had a 60 vote senate super-majority for a total of 72 days in session. For the remainder of the time, republicans successfully filibustered virtually every senate jobs and infrastructure initiative and many presidential appointments--viz there is still no Surgeon General), here are some verifiable facts.
1. We've now had 63 straight months of economic expansion.

That's right, for 63 consecutive months the US economy has gotten progressively better. That includes 54 consecutive months of private sector job growth. Forbes magazine, no fan of President Obama, crunched the numbers and demonstrated how the economic recovery under President Obama has been better in just about every measurable way than the recovery under President Reagan.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ adamhartung/2014/09/05/obama- outperforms-reagan-on-jobs- growth-and-investing/
2. We are currently enjoying the longest period of private sector job creation in American history.

Again, this statistic comes from the Forbes Magazine article listed above. In fact, we have now had 54 straight months of private sector job creation. That is the longest period of job creation since the Department of Labor has been keeping statistics. See the link below.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/09/ 15/obamas-claim-that- businesses-are-in-the-longest- uninterrupted-stretch-of-job- creation/
3. Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% in October of 2009 to 5.9% and projected to reach 5.4% by summer of 2015.

Not only has the unemployment rate dropped significantly, but since the recession ended, our economy as added over ten million new jobs. You can refer to the Forbes article above or check this article on PoliticsUSA.
http://www.politicususa.com/ 2014/09/05/jobs-report.html
4. The stock market continues to set new records since President Obama has been in office.

Since early 2009 there has been a steady trend in stock market growth. The Dow Jones Industrial averages reached an all-time high of 17,098 in August, 2014. Since most Americans have 401K retirement investments in the stock market, this stock market growth benefits millions of middle class Americans.
http://www.macrotrends.net/ 1358/dow-jones-industrial- average-last-10-years
5. The Federal budget deficit is shrinking. It's been reduced by two-thirds since 2009.

The $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit that Obama inherited in 2009 was in a large part due to the high rate of unemployment. When millions of people were put out of work in 2008 and 2009, it resulted in far less income taxes and less economic activity to generate federal revenue. As ten million people have been put back to work, there have been billions more tax dollars generated. As a result, the deficit has been shrinking each year. The 2014 deficit is projected to be around $500 billion, the smallest deficit since 2007 and roughly 1/3 of what it was in 2009.
http://www. usgovernmentspending.com/ federal_deficit_chart.html
6. Under President Obama, spending has increased only 1.4% annually, the lowest rate since Eisenhower was president.

You may have heard critics say that President Obama is spending money wildly and running up our debt. According to this article from Forbes, Obama has increased spending by 1.4% annually, far less than President Reagan (8.7%) or George W. Bush (8.1%). In fact, Obama has increased spending less than any president since Eisenhower.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is- the-smallest-government- spender-since-eisenhower- would-you-believe-its-barack- obama/
7. For 95% of American taxpayers, income taxes are lower now than just about any time in the previous 50 years.

After President Obama took office, thousands of Tea Party members all over the country held rallies protesting Obama's tax increases. At that time, President Obama had actually passed several tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Most of the Tea Partiers who were protesting had only seen their taxes decrease under Obama. Yet polls indicated that most Tea Party members wrongly believed their taxes had gone up.
In fact, the only people whose income taxes have gone up during Obama's presidency are those making $400,000 per year or more. That's less than 2% of the population. Today, for the vast majority of people, tax rates are exactly where they were when Obama first took office or lower. The article below from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains this in greater detail.
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa= view&id=3151
8. Our dependence on foreign oil has shrunk due to record domestic oil production and improved fuel efficiency standards.

While some people claim that oil production has declined under President Obama, the truth is just the opposite. Oil production has reached record highs. The United States now produces so much oil that we export more oil and gasoline than we import.
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g. aspx?c=us&v=88
9. At least 7 million more Americans now have health insurance than before, not counting Medicaid expansion.

Depending on whose numbers you use, between 7 and 10 million Americans acquired health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act. Now that those 7 to 10 million Americans have insurance, the rest of us are no longer on the hook to pay for their health care when they get sick. This saves the American people billions of dollars in the long run.
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/ health-care/obamacare-helped- 10-million-get-insurance- gallup-finds-n78446
10. The Affordable Care Act has added years to the life of Medicare.

The Medicare trust fund had been on course to run out of money by the end of 2016. But due to cost savings from the Affordable Care Act and lower healthcare expenses, Medicare's trust fund is now stable until the year 2030 without cutting benefits.
http://online.wsj.com/ articles/medicare-social- security-headed-in-different- directions-1406564712
11. Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, we are seeing the slowest rate of increase in healthcare costs since 1960.

Contrary to the predictions from Republicans, health care costs have increased at a much slower pace since the passage of the ACA.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/docs/ healthcostreport_final_ noembargo_v2.pdf
12. We currently have fewer soldiers, sailors and airmen in war zones than any time in over 10 years.
With the end of the Iraq war and the steady withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, we have fewer people in war zones now than any time since 2002.
13. There have been zero successful attacks by al Qaeda on US soil since Obama became president.

Despite Dick Cheney's claim that if voters elect a Democrat as president, we'll be "hit again and hit hard" by al Qaeda, we have actually been far safer from terrorist attacks on US soil in recent years than we were under the previous president. There have been several unsuccessful attacks against the US under both presidents, but under Obama, al Qaeda has been largely unsuccessful in striking the US on our home soil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Timeline_of_al-Qaeda_attacks
14. We now successfully catch and deport more illegal immigrants than ever before.

Despite the publicity from busloads of children who illegally entered the country, the numbers prove that President Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other president.
http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2012/ aug/10/american-principles- action/has-barack-obama- deported-more-people-any- other-pr/

All of the facts stated above can be confirmed through multiple sources, yet most Americans are not aware of all of this positive news. I invite you to do your own research and check these facts for yourself.
The truth is, most other presidents would envy President Obama's record despite the fact that he inherited the worst economic crash since the Great Depression.
Here's a bonus. If you feel particularly ambitious, feel free to research these additional facts.Since Obama became president, our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs per month to adding 200,000 jobs per month. That's a net improvement under Obama of about 1 million jobs per month!Before Obama became president, our financial system was in ruins and millions of people were at risk of losing their life savings. Now, the financial loopholes have been fixed and we are no longer at risk of another financial collapse.In 5 years under Obama the economy has created twice as many jobs as were created in 8 years under George W. Bush.President Obama passed credit card reforms that protects consumers from excessive fees, rate hikes, deceptive marketing and unreasonable due dates.Thanks to "Obamacare", senior citizens have saved billions of dollars on prescription drugs.The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of your premiums on health care. As a result millions of Americans have received refunds from their health insurance companies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2014/07/24/health-insurance- rebates_n_5614570.html
Despite the unprecedented obstructionism and record number of filibusters used by Republicans to kill even the most routine legislation, the fact remains, in almost every measurable way, the American people are better off today than they were before President Obama took office.
 
Since there is a difference of opinion, let's have a vote on it the day after Tomorrow!
cool0010.r191677.gif
 
Unfortunately, that list left out probably the most important item in addressing that question. Median income and net worth for all Americans (except for the top 1%) has fallen over the last six years. Poverty and food stamps usage are at an all time high. Wages down. Net worth down. Poverty up. People on federal assistance up.

Suppose the top 1% is better off. As for the rest of us we are earning less money, have less assets, and are more dependent on federal assistance for food and shelter.
 
Originally posted by WATU2:


Recognizing that Obama has been a far from perfect president and probably has had less influence on the course of economic events in the U.S. than he would like (e.g., since January 2009, the democrats had a 60 vote senate super-majority for a total of 72 days in session. For the remainder of the time, republicans successfully filibustered virtually every senate jobs and infrastructure initiative and many presidential appointments--viz there is still no Surgeon General), here are some verifiable facts.


1. We've now had 63 straight months of economic expansion.



That's right, for 63 consecutive months the US economy has gotten progressively better. That includes 54 consecutive months of private sector job growth. Forbes magazine, no fan of President Obama, crunched the numbers and demonstrated how the economic recovery under President Obama has been better in just about every measurable way than the recovery under President Reagan.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ adamhartung/2014/09/05/obama- outperforms-reagan-on-jobs- growth-and-investing/


2. We are currently enjoying the longest period of private sector job creation in American history.



Again, this statistic comes from the Forbes Magazine article listed above. In fact, we have now had 54 straight months of private sector job creation. That is the longest period of job creation since the Department of Labor has been keeping statistics. See the link below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/09/ 15/obamas-claim-that- businesses-are-in-the-longest- uninterrupted-stretch-of-job- creation/


3. Unemployment has dropped from 10.1% in October of 2009 to 5.9% and projected to reach 5.4% by summer of 2015.



Not only has the unemployment rate dropped significantly, but since the recession ended, our economy as added over ten million new jobs. You can refer to the Forbes article above or check this article on PoliticsUSA.

http://www.politicususa.com/ 2014/09/05/jobs-report.html


4. The stock market continues to set new records since President Obama has been in office.



Since early 2009 there has been a steady trend in stock market growth. The Dow Jones Industrial averages reached an all-time high of 17,098 in August, 2014. Since most Americans have 401K retirement investments in the stock market, this stock market growth benefits millions of middle class Americans.

http://www.macrotrends.net/ 1358/dow-jones-industrial- average-last-10-years


5. The Federal budget deficit is shrinking. It's been reduced by two-thirds since 2009.



The $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit that Obama inherited in 2009 was in a large part due to the high rate of unemployment. When millions of people were put out of work in 2008 and 2009, it resulted in far less income taxes and less economic activity to generate federal revenue. As ten million people have been put back to work, there have been billions more tax dollars generated. As a result, the deficit has been shrinking each year. The 2014 deficit is projected to be around $500 billion, the smallest deficit since 2007 and roughly 1/3 of what it was in 2009.

http://www. usgovernmentspending.com/ federal_deficit_chart.html


6. Under President Obama, spending has increased only 1.4% annually, the lowest rate since Eisenhower was president.



You may have heard critics say that President Obama is spending money wildly and running up our debt. According to this article from Forbes, Obama has increased spending by 1.4% annually, far less than President Reagan (8.7%) or George W. Bush (8.1%). In fact, Obama has increased spending less than any president since Eisenhower.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is- the-smallest-government- spender-since-eisenhower- would-you-believe-its-barack- obama/


7. For 95% of American taxpayers, income taxes are lower now than just about any time in the previous 50 years.



After President Obama took office, thousands of Tea Party members all over the country held rallies protesting Obama's tax increases. At that time, President Obama had actually passed several tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Most of the Tea Partiers who were protesting had only seen their taxes decrease under Obama. Yet polls indicated that most Tea Party members wrongly believed their taxes had gone up.

In fact, the only people whose income taxes have gone up during Obama's presidency are those making $400,000 per year or more. That's less than 2% of the population. Today, for the vast majority of people, tax rates are exactly where they were when Obama first took office or lower. The article below from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains this in greater detail.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa= view&id=3151


8. Our dependence on foreign oil has shrunk due to record domestic oil production and improved fuel efficiency standards.



While some people claim that oil production has declined under President Obama, the truth is just the opposite. Oil production has reached record highs. The United States now produces so much oil that we export more oil and gasoline than we import.

http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g. aspx?c=us&v=88


9. At least 7 million more Americans now have health insurance than before, not counting Medicaid expansion.



Depending on whose numbers you use, between 7 and 10 million Americans acquired health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act. Now that those 7 to 10 million Americans have insurance, the rest of us are no longer on the hook to pay for their health care when they get sick. This saves the American people billions of dollars in the long run.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/ health-care/obamacare-helped- 10-million-get-insurance- gallup-finds-n78446


10. The Affordable Care Act has added years to the life of Medicare.



The Medicare trust fund had been on course to run out of money by the end of 2016. But due to cost savings from the Affordable Care Act and lower healthcare expenses, Medicare's trust fund is now stable until the year 2030 without cutting benefits.

http://online.wsj.com/ articles/medicare-social- security-headed-in-different- directions-1406564712


11. Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, we are seeing the slowest rate of increase in healthcare costs since 1960.



Contrary to the predictions from Republicans, health care costs have increased at a much slower pace since the passage of the ACA.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/docs/ healthcostreport_final_ noembargo_v2.pdf


12. We currently have fewer soldiers, sailors and airmen in war zones than any time in over 10 years.

With the end of the Iraq war and the steady withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, we have fewer people in war zones now than any time since 2002.


13. There have been zero successful attacks by al Qaeda on US soil since Obama became president.



Despite Dick Cheney's claim that if voters elect a Democrat as president, we'll be "hit again and hit hard" by al Qaeda, we have actually been far safer from terrorist attacks on US soil in recent years than we were under the previous president. There have been several unsuccessful attacks against the US under both presidents, but under Obama, al Qaeda has been largely unsuccessful in striking the US on our home soil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Timeline_of_al-Qaeda_attacks


14. We now successfully catch and deport more illegal immigrants than ever before.



Despite the publicity from busloads of children who illegally entered the country, the numbers prove that President Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other president.

http://www.politifact.com/ truth-o-meter/statements/2012/ aug/10/american-principles- action/has-barack-obama- deported-more-people-any- other-pr/



All of the facts stated above can be confirmed through multiple sources, yet most Americans are not aware of all of this positive news. I invite you to do your own research and check these facts for yourself.

The truth is, most other presidents would envy President Obama's record despite the fact that he inherited the worst economic crash since the Great Depression.

Here's a bonus. If you feel particularly ambitious, feel free to research these additional facts.

Since Obama became president, our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs per month to adding 200,000 jobs per month. That's a net improvement under Obama of about 1 million jobs per month!
Before Obama became president, our financial system was in ruins and millions of people were at risk of losing their life savings. Now, the financial loopholes have been fixed and we are no longer at risk of another financial collapse.
In 5 years under Obama the economy has created twice as many jobs as were created in 8 years under George W. Bush.
President Obama passed credit card reforms that protects consumers from excessive fees, rate hikes, deceptive marketing and unreasonable due dates.
Thanks to "Obamacare", senior citizens have saved billions of dollars on prescription drugs.
The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of your premiums on health care. As a result millions of Americans have received refunds from their health insurance companies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2014/07/24/health-insurance- rebates_n_5614570.html

Despite the unprecedented obstructionism and record number of filibusters used by Republicans to kill even the most routine legislation, the fact remains, in almost every measurable way, the American people are better off today than they were before President Obama took office.
So there are only 14?

http://www.westernfreepress.com/2014/07/25/obamas-list-of-failures-read-em-and-weep-democrats-then-act/
 
At least 7 million more Americans now have health insurance than before, not counting Medicaid expansion.
----------------

Of those 5,000,000 already had health insurance, so only about 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 bought obamacare. what happened to the other 40,000,000 plus who did not have health care before obamacare.

where did thay go?
 
Yikes!! Far from perfect? How about a clueless narcissist supported by some really bad statistical analysis??

1. True

2. True at face value but one must look at the type of jobs created before touting this area. In fact, most jobs created are lower wage and/or part time which is not comparable to the other periods cited during which most jobs created were full time and middle income.

3. True at face value but there are two other big considerations. The first (already noted) is the shift to part time work. The second is that a major component of the reduction in unemployment is workers who have left the workforce. Workforce participation is at its lowest since March of 1978. Add those workers back into the unemployment numbers and things look kind of grim. Don't even bother with "under employment" because that number is really bad.

4. Stock market? Oh my. The rise in the stock market is directly tied to the amount of money being printed by the Fed. Low interest rates plus a massive increase in the money supply has left investors with few options. Additionally, due to a host of factors a lot of corporations are using low cost money to repurchase their own stock.

5. The reduction in the budget deficit is partially due to to economic growth. It is partially due to "sequestration". Obama has not even presented a budget so you really can't give him any credit for the reduction in the deficit.

6. See "no budget" and "sequestration".

7. Not true. The Supreme Court stipulated that Obama Care and its various mandates were a "tax". If you add that into the tax bill things don't look as rosy.

8. You have got to be kidding. After Obama and the Democrats have fought tooth and claw against fracking and the pipeline (still stalled) you want to give Obama credit for domestic oil production? Really???

9. Yeah. Already covered by others but the goal of ObamaCare was to provide health insurance for the uninsured. It has failed to do so. Net gains in insured are pretty small and more than offset by those who had health insurance but were forced onto a different plan.

10. Saying that the Medicare "trust fund" is stable is absurd. There is no trust fund. There is no money. There hasn't been any since Eisenhower raided it to build highways. Medicare stability is a function of current year tax revenue and nothing else.

11. Tell that to my insurance carrier.

12. Oh goody. We gave away any hope of accomplishing anything in Iraq and Afghanistan. The entire Middle East is on fire. Russia is poking sticks at a host of countries and has taken over Crimea. Having troops out of harms way is great but overall foreign policy under Obama is a debacle.

13. There were zero successful attacks on US soil after 9/11 under Bush. Big deal and not indicative of anything relevant or significant.

14. Deportations are up but so is illegal immigration (up 14% last year for a third year of increase). Release of illegals with criminal records is waaay up. Perhaps you would be better served to look at deportations as a function of illegal immigration as opposed to just raw deportation numbers. Additionally, you need to look at numbers for "returned" illegals versus "deported" illegals under various Presidents. Obama deports more but "returns" (deportation sans a lot of paperwork) far fewer than his predecessors. The actual numbers show that illegals being sent home went from 1.2 million in 2004 to roughly 650,000 on 2012 while illegal immigration has increased each year under Obama.

I felt ambitious. I researched. Enjoy the day.
 
While I realize I'm not nearly as smart as the rest of you people, I do remember that when Obama was elected, Gas was around $1.90 a gallon. I also believe the money I had saved will now buy about 60 percent of what it used to.

And then one day, out of nowhere, my perfectly good TV suddenly quit working.

Bummer.
 
Appears as if the American electorate answered this question last night.
 
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