Obama leaving ended recessionObama Saved Us From a Great Depression
There is no mystery about Barack Obama's greatest presidential achievement: He stopped the Great Recession from becoming the second Great Depression. True, he had plenty of help, including from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and from the top officials at the Treasury and Federal Reserve. But if Obama had made one wrong step, what was a crushing economic slump could have become something much worse.
In the coming weeks, we'll be swamped with analyses of Obama's legacy. His foreign policy will be critiqued, as it is already. Once in the White House, Donald Trump may trash some of Obama's favorite policies: the Affordable Care Act, the program on climate change, the Dodd-Frank law on financial regulation. All this may wrongly foster the notion that Obama accomplished almost nothing.
Put this down to partisanship, selective memories or both. It is Obama's unfortunate fate that the high-water mark of his presidency occurred in the first months, when the world flirted with financial calamity. The prospect of another Great Depression - a long period of worsening economic decline - was not far-fetched.
In its just-released annual report, the White House's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) explains why. Recall the dreadful numbers.
In the first quarter of 2009, as Obama was moving into the White House, monthly job losses averaged 772,000. The ultimate decline in employment was 8.7 million jobs, or 6.3%. Housing prices and stock values were collapsing. From their peak in February 2007 to their low point, housing prices dropped 26%. Millions of homeowners were "underwater" - their houses were worth less than the mortgages on them. Stock prices fell roughly by half from August 2007 to March 2009.
There was no guarantee that the economy's downward spiral wouldn't continue, as frightened businesses and consumers curbed spending, and, in the process, increased unemployment. The CEA presents a series of charts comparing the 2008-09 slump with the Great Depression. In every instance, the 2008-09 downturn was as bad as - or worse than - the first year of the Great Depression: employment loss, drop in global trade and change in households' net worth.
The starkest of these was the fall in households' net worth (people's assets, such as homes and stock, minus their debts, such as mortgages and credit card balances). It dropped by $13 trillion, about a fifth, from its high point in 2007 to its trough in 2009. This decline, the CEA notes, "was far larger than the reduction (adjusted for inflation) ... at the onset of the Great Depression."
What separates then from now is that, after 18 months or so, spending turned up in 2009 while it continued declining in the 1930s. This difference reflected, at least in part, the aggressive policies adopted to blunt the downturn. The Fed cut short-term interest rates to zero and provided other avenues of cheap credit; the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), enacted in the final months of the Bush administration, poured money into major banks to reassure the public of their solvency.
Still, Obama's role was crucial. Against opposition, he decided to rescue General Motors and Chrysler. Throwing them onto the tender mercies of the market would have been a huge blow to the industrial Midwest and to national psychology. He also championed a sizable budget "stimulus." Advertised originally as $787 billion, it was actually $2.6 trillion over four years when the initial program was combined with later proposals and so-called "automatic stabilizers" are included, says the CEA.
More generally, Obama projected reason and calm when much of the nation was fearful and frazzled. Of course, he didn't single-handedly restore confidence; but he made a big contribution. So did the underlying flexibility and resilience of the U.S. economy.
In its report, the CEA contends that the recovery from the Great Recession is mostly complete. This seems plausible. Since the low point, employment is up 15.6 million jobs. Rising home and stock prices have boosted Inflation-adjusted household net worth by 16%. Gross domestic product - the economy - is nearly 12% higher than before the financial crisis.
Many Americans still seem disappointed. They feel insecure and shortchanged. The financial crisis and Great Recession left deep scars that haven't yet been fully healed by a recovery that often seemed halting and unreliable. They also don't give Obama much credit because they disagree with him on other issues or disapprove of the general contentiousness of his presidency. Any semblance of bipartisanship broke down.
As a result, his impact is underestimated. Suppose we had had a second Great Depression with, say, peak unemployment of 15%. Almost all our problems - from poverty to political polarization - would have worsened. Obama's influence must be considered in this context. When historians do, they may be more impressed
Obama Saved Us From a Great Depression | RealClearMarkets
There is no mystery about Barack Obama's greatest presidential achievement: He stopped the Great Recession from becoming the second Great Depression. True, he had plenty of help, including from his...www.realclearmarkets.com
Wake Up, America! Wake Up! PLEASE!!
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The market now sees the Fed cutting by 75 basis points in March
Friday's stock market rout and a fresh record low in government bond yields pushed traders to assign a 65% chance of a 75 basis point reduction by the March 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee meeting
Joe Biden Keeps Forgetting Barack Obama's Name and It's Getting Uncomfortable
This isn't normal.
www.redstate.com
true...he cleaned up the mess Bush put us in
The trump Economy vs the Obama Economy - No Contest
Here are a couple of charts that illustrate the trump Economy vs the Obama Economy. And includes some comparisons across past Presidents.
I am using the S&P 500 stock market index as a simple indicator of the economy. Dividends are not included, so the charts do not accurately reflect total return, although dividends plays a minor role.
The first chart shows the S&P 500 Index change across Presidential terms since Reagan. Things to note -
- Clinton and Obama stand out against the rest.
- The market had a negative return during George Bush’s presidency.
The chart below shows the same data as above for the first 2 years of the presidency. What stands out is -
- The wide gap between the Obama vs trump S&P 500 Index values.
- At this point, the stock market has lost most of the gains during the trump presidency.
- The stock market return is negative so far for 2018 (-10%).
- Across the entire 2 year period, the trump economy is nowhere close to the Obama economy, even though trump has been boasting/lying every day about the stock market under his presidency.
- Even if we ignore the recent sharp drop in markets, Obama did better than trump across the board, except during the first few months, when the economy was tanking when Obama first took office.
- Obama started in a deep hole (thanks to the great recession caused under the George Bush presidency) while trump had a booming economy to start with (thanks Obama).
- Obama was saddled with a Republican Congress whose primary mission was to make Obama fail, damn the economy and the country.
- trump and the GOP provided a massive tax break to corporations for 2018 onwards. In spite of that, the S&P 500 is down 10% for the year. Corporate after-tax profits are up, the 1% got big bonuses while the middle class saw their next eggs shrink and the Federal deficit has ballooned to close to a trillion dollars.
The chart below shows the S&P 500 Index value change since 1981. Of note -
- The stock market did exceedingly well under Democratic Presidents — Clinton and Obama.
- Under Republican Presidents, not so much.
The trump Economy vs the Obama Economy - No Contest
Here are a couple of charts that illustrate the trump Economy vs the Obama Economy. And includes some comparisons across past Presidents. I am using the S&P 500 stock market index as a simple indicator of the economy. Dividends are not included,...
www.dailykos.com
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Trump Claims the Economy Is the Best Ever—These 11 Facts ...
trump-claims-economy-best-ever-11-facts-tell...
1. GDP Growth Was Higher on Average under Obama in 2014 and 2015 Than Compared to Trump in 2017 and 2018. Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is a measure of total income in the economy. Figures shown represent the percent change from the previous year of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ accounting of GDP. 2.
How Trump tries to obscure the strong economy he inherited ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/07/...
May 07, 2019 · President Trump gives a thumbs up during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. Polling consistently shows that, while Americans remain generally skeptical of President Trump’s job performance, they give him good marks on his handling of the economy.
For the last time: Trump inherited a good economy, and he ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/25/for-the-last-time-trump...
Jun 25, 2018 · Which brings us to the point at hand: In the past 45 years, only one president has inherited a better economy than Trump did. That was George W. Bush, who took office at the tail end of the tech bubble, when unemployment was a mere 4.2 percent.
trump-claims-economy-best-ever-11-facts-tell...
1. GDP Growth Was Higher on Average under Obama in 2014 and 2015 Than Compared to Trump in 2017 and 2018. Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is a measure of total income in the economy. Figures shown represent the percent change from the previous year of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ accounting of GDP. 2.
How Trump tries to obscure the strong economy he inherited ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/07/...
May 07, 2019 · President Trump gives a thumbs up during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 27, 2019. Polling consistently shows that, while Americans remain generally skeptical of President Trump’s job performance, they give him good marks on his handling of the economy.
For the last time: Trump inherited a good economy, and he ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/25/for-the-last-time-trump...
Jun 25, 2018 · Which brings us to the point at hand: In the past 45 years, only one president has inherited a better economy than Trump did. That was George W. Bush, who took office at the tail end of the tech bubble, when unemployment was a mere 4.2 percent.
You're like a bull frog in a pot of water ... as the water heats up to boiling and your own demise, you bask in the comfort of the water you're in. You refuse to admit that "trickle down" has now been declared a complete failure, even though your party has continued swearing it works and continued cutting critical revenue from the government.
Maybe your off-spring will be a bit sharper than you seem to be ... my fingers crossed.
Bloomberg Staffers Claim Campaign ‘Was a Grift,’ Admit to Canvassing for Other Campaigns | National Review
Staffers for former New York city mayor Mike Bloomberg’s failed presidential campaign have described how the campaign imploded after Bloomberg’s Nevada debate performance.
www.nationalreview.com
Media Can't Keep Politics Out of Coronavirus Coverage | RealClearPolitics
Last week, CNN media critic Brian Stelter struck an ominous chord regarding the spreading coronavirus. Since the dawn of the Trump presidency, countless experts have warned that the president's...
SERIOUSLY .... JUST HOW DUMB CAN TRUMP AND HIS ENTOURAGE OF TRUMPIAN MORONS GET!!!
'Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals!
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'Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals!
Can spot bullshit a mile away
why is it China runs several thousand tests a day for the cornovirus……...and yet here in the US we have run a total of just over 500?....
administration having a meltdown trying to divert money from where it shouldn't?
if it wasn't for the news we would not have any idea just what is going on...…..can not rely on Sgt Donald Shultz to know anything or even speak the truth.....found out on the news last night we had one in this state that is now in hospital
if it was up to trump no one would know nothing and just all of a sudden the elderly just start dying off......and the same for those with an illness…..he would not care a bit...…..nor would the republican party....they seem to back him in his comments about the dems and the news promoting this...…...when people start dying from whatever the public has a right to know!
his stupidity and poor handling of this could cost him some votes....but then he never cares about public opinion....look at where he is at and his highest opinion to date
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number of pres been impeached......3...….trump one
number of pres been elected and lost popular vote......5 and trump one of them
guy not really a winner...….but then look at who supports him.....light is on but no one home!
number of pres been elected and lost popular vote......5 and trump one of them
guy not really a winner...….but then look at who supports him.....light is on but no one home!
If you ran anything like your mouth you'd be a millionare
ok you want to defend Donald Mussoweinie……...lets say it is half or even a third everyday...…..that 500 number for the US is a total since the beginning.....face it...the Chinese do more for their country and are smarter than trump
Aren't we so lucky to have a President that makes cuts to the EPA and CDC during a potential pandemic? Every other country knows the results IF the coronavirus suddenly goes viral and gets into the general population. But, NOT Trump, he doesn't wish to spend money on a virus that might suddenly dissipate at any minute, or so he said. Afterall, building that great WALL is way more important, as it will be HIS MEMORIAL once he's no longer President. I'm just surprised he didn't want to model his fence after the Great Wall Of China .... maybe THAT'S how the Mexicans would build the wall for Trump ... I can see them cutting and dragging those stones across a couple thousand miles of US terrain.
In Any Sane Country, Trump's New Budget Would Be Political Suicide
Cutting the CDC in the middle of a pandemic is not viable in a functioning republic. We do not currently have one.
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So, just curious, are you equally upset about Bloomberg making the statement that "farming is easy, I can teach anyone how to farm"?
Oh, and lets not forget Bloomberg making the statement that if you can't stop the burglar in 3 shoots you deserve to get robbed.
Aren't we so lucky to have a President that makes cuts to the EPA and CDC during a potential pandemic? Every other country knows the results IF the coronavirus suddenly goes viral and gets into the general population. But, NOT Trump, he doesn't wish to spend money on a virus that might suddenly dissipate at any minute, or so he said. Afterall, building that great WALL is way more important, as it will be HIS MEMORIAL once he's no longer President. I'm just surprised he didn't want to model his fence after the Great Wall Of China .... maybe THAT'S how the Mexicans would build the wall for Trump ... I can see them cutting and dragging those stones across a couple thousand miles of US terrain.
In Any Sane Country, Trump's New Budget Would Be Political Suicide
Cutting the CDC in the middle of a pandemic is not viable in a functioning republic. We do not currently have one.www.esquire.com
What? no love for the flu?
COVID-19: Approximately 3,460 deaths reported worldwide; 14 deaths in the U.S., as of Mar. 6, 2020.
Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year.
COVID-19 vs. the Flu
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