December 10, 2016

Assessing the "Obama Economy"

Wall Street Journal Marketwatch columnist Brett Arends assessed the progress of U.S. economy under the Obama administration by comparing data from the third quarter of 2008 — just before Obama’s election — with the third quarter of 2016.
The Obama Economy

Third-quarter 2008 Third-quarter 2016 Verdict
Gross domestic product (2009 dollars) $14.892 trillion $16.713 trillion Up 12%
30-year mortgage loan rate 6.46% 3.54% Nearly halved
Nonfarm payrolls 136.3 million 145.0 million Up 8.7 million
Uninsured (health) 45 million 27 million Down 18 million
Exports (2009 dollars) $1.766 trillion $2.163 trillion Up 22%
Un- and under-employed rate (U6) 11.8% 9.5% Down 20%
Median household income $50,303 $57,929 Up 15%
Manufacturing output per worker (2009 dollars) $382,977 $436,776 Up 14%
Dow Jones Industrial Average 9,319 18,332 Nearly doubled
"Not bad. Especially as we were just plunging into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."

In conclusion, Arends writes of Trump's negative views on the economy: "It's total nonsense." His prediction:  "At the first sign of trouble next year, President Trump and his cheerleaders, like Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones, will say it’s the fault of that 'terrible' Obama economy that he inherited."

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