Reading through the comments on Fark Monday, I encountered the most fascinating post by a user named Hugram. It dispels from every aspect the myth that the economy is worse under Obama.
The truth is Bush made a mess and Obama, despite obstruction at every turn, has turned the economy around in fantastic fashion.
I begged for permission to republish his post, and he graciously permitted it.
So here we go…
The economy may not be great, but it has improved greatly since late 2008…
GDP performance during the Obama Administration has gone into positive growth.
US stock markets performance during the Obama Administration…
DOW in 01/20/2009: 7,949.09
DOW in 07/27/2012: 13,075.66
Rate of Return: 64.49%
S&P 500 in 01/20/2009: 805.22
S&P 500 in 07/27/2012: 1,385.97
Rate of Return: 72.12%
NASDAQ in 01/20/2009: 1,440.86
NASDAQ in 07/27/2012: 2,958.09
Rate of Return: 105.30%
Private jobs hemorrhage slowed down during the Obama Administration and eventually went into positive territory.
Comparing unemployment rate fluctuation between President Bush and President Obama.
Bush
1/20/2001: 4.2%
1/20/2009: 7.7%
Unemployment Rate Change: 83.33% increase
Obama
1/20/2009: 7.7%
Currently: 8.2%
Unemployment Rate Change: 6.49% increase
Unemployment rate has been trending down now during the Obama Administration…
…Even though the Tea Party Nation urged small business owners to not hire people in order to make Obama look bad.
Or when a company with company policies about not hiring until Obama is gone based on nothing to do with the basic supply and demand process for his business goods.
Or having Mitch McConnell admit that Republicans took America hostage.
Or having the GOP blocked a 10 percent tax break for small businesses that hires new employees.
Even so, the job market did improve. Read all about it…
Private-sector job growth biggest in 3 years.
Stealth signs of a stronger job market.
Biggest unemployment rate improvement in nearly 28 years.
Small businesses ramp up jobs.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. That is the lowest since February 2009.
Stealth jobs boom: 6 months, 2 million jobs.
Jobless claims plunged last week to a nearly four-year low.
If you are unemployed or underemployed, you don’t have a 4 year degree (or higher) and blame Obama for your situation, then maybe you should get a college degree. It is not the Government’s fault you don’t have the necessary skills to compete in today’s world. The Government can even help you pay for it (via student loans, grants, GI Bill etc.).
Average weekly paychecks have improved.
average-weekly-paychecks-improved
Inflation has not been out of control, and economically dangerous deflation has stopped.
Manufacturing has started to go up.
Consumer spending is up.
And when another user on Fark, unimpressed, asked for the chart showing that Obama has become less black, Hugram graciously provided the following.
“His hair has been getting less back… that has to count for something.”
Thank you to Hugram for this guest post.
I agree with you, P. There’s the “philosophical point” that you wish could be made versus the “pragmatism” that comes with, “But I’ve got the money to win this thing straight up.” But, unless you stick to your stated principles, the pragmatic voter just thinks “All politicians are the same, talk is cheap.”
No one minds when a bad call goes in our favor in football. A proportionate response when it happens the other way doesn’t make you look like a sore loser. But if you start spearing their quarterback because they did it to you…it’s still poor sportsmanship no matter who does it. PAC money is legal, but Kerry got clobbered by negative ads. Still mad? Nope…but I don’t like negative ads any better.
I have to agree with both arguments…that the money is there, the law is there, so now, in order to win a political race, you have to outspend your opponent by countering ad with ad. But, I also would love to see Obama get some cajones and say, forget the money, I’m gonna run an honest campaign and not attack Romney. That would be pretty cool to see. But herein squats the toad…Romney, actually those who are behind Romney, don’t think like us…they don’t fight fair and if Obama were to take the high road and just sit back and let Romney run roughshod all over him, most folks (who, by the way, get most of their news from Fox) would vote Republican, without knowing the real truth. So, it is definitely a catch 22 situation here. If it were me, I’d get all my facts straight about Romney, offshore bank accounts, not paying taxes, not supplying tax information, shipping jobs overseas, etc. and whenever Romney put up a new ad that cost millions to make, I’d run the same ad over and over and over again. Saving money and getting the point across. But hey, that’s me.
Doesn’t piss me off Some Guy, it’s just the fact, Jack, like it or not. Reasons be damned (just like Guantanamo). Nothing says it’s a good/bad thing (PAC money, Guantanamo,etc.) but after you criticize your opponent then DO it, you’ve lost your “high ground”.
Kind of like the GOP making all that fuss about Clinton’s “cigar” in the Oval office. A year later, their Speaker’s of the House succumbed to he same fate (Newt, Livingston). Did that legitimize their position, or just subject them to the same scrutiny?
Insert your own Pot/Kettle and Goose/Gander joke here.
Oh, please, Kilroy. You expect Obama to sit back and have hundreds of millions in PAC money spent against him and do nothing about it? Be real. Obama would happily ditch PAC money if the GOP would do the same. The problem is that the GOP controlled Supreme Court has made limitless PAC money available and Obama is playing by their rules. Sorry that pisses you off.
That’s part of the “change” Obama promised. He’s changed a lot since the candidate days of not wanting to take PAC money. Now mainstream attack ads…business as usual.
Why is this NOT in the mainstream news???
This should be fundamental. The economy HAS IMPROVED… lordy Obama, run on that! You fixed stuff, just run on that.
But no, we have to have attack ads.