We’ve known for a while that the “recovery” has been the most anemic post recession era in modern U. S. history.
Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog has some numbers on the achievements of the Obama Administration with regards to economic performance cross posted to Zero Hedge. They make for interesting reading.
33 Shocking Facts Which Show How Badly The Economy Has Tanked Under Obama
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It is getting very tiring listening to Obama supporters try to claim that Obama has improved the economy. That is a false claim that is not even remotely close to reality. The following are 33 shocking facts which show how badly the U.S. economy has tanked since Obama became president…
And here they are, the 33 disastrous economic facts which are the achievements and legacy of the Obama Administration:
#1 When Barack Obama entered the White House, 60.6 percent of working age Americans had a job. Today, only 58.7 percent of working age Americans have a job.
Note that this does not differentiate between full and part time employment. The overall employment rate has fallen by 1.9% during Obama’s tenure.
#2 Since Obama has been president, seven out of every eight jobs that have been “created” in the U.S. economy have been part-time jobs.
That’s 87.5% of all new jobs which are less than full employment. The impacts of this less than full employment will show up further down the list.
#3 The number of full-time workers in the United States is still nearly 6 million below the old record that was set back in 2007.
Part time employment is self evidently better than non employment, but it cannot fuel a robust and expanding economy.
#4 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers now make less than $30,000 a year.
One of the fruits of the record achievement in creating part time jobs.
#5 40 percent of all workers in the United States actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968.
Another of the fruits of “growth” and “job creation” centering on part time employment. As social progress goes, that is best described as regression.
#6 When the Obama era began, the average duration of unemployment in this country was 19.8 weeks. Today, it is 36.6 weeks.
That’s nearly nine months between losing one job and finding another, with an 88% chance that the new position will be less than full time.
#7 During the first four years of Obama, the number of Americans “not in the labor force” soared by an astounding 8,332,000. That far exceeds any previous four year total.
It used to be that one of the specific goals of the Federal Reserve was fostering full employment. Not, it would seem, in this Administration.
#8 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the middle class is taking home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before.
A smaller capital share for the middle class in turn means a shrinking tax base for a government already making a drunken sailor look like a genius of financial rectitude in comparison.
#9 When Obama was elected, the home ownership rate in the United States was 67.5 percent. Today, it is 65.0 percent. That is the lowest that it has been in 18 years.
the gains of nearly two decades wiped out in a mere five years.
#10 When Obama entered the White House, the mortgage delinquency rate was 7.85 percent. Today, it is 9.72 percent.
Statements that the foreclosure crises is over may be more than a little overstated. Nor should the stability of the banks and real estate markets be presumed to be out of danger.
The remaining 23 reasons 0bamanomics suck.
#11 In 2008, the U.S. trade deficit with China was 268 billion dollars. Last year, it was 315 billion dollars.
This despite a period of deflation and huge economic turmoil in China.
#12 When Obama first became president, 12.5 million Americans had manufacturing jobs. Today, only 11.9 million Americans have manufacturing jobs.
That’s 600,000 manufacturing jobs vanished into the maw of the Obama non-recovery.
#13 Median household income in America has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4,000 during that time span.
Contracting household income translates to less disposable income, and thus less economic activity as a whole.
#14 The poverty rate has shot up to 16.1 percent. That is actually higher than when the War on Poverty began in 1965.
Is it finally time to admit that the War on Poverty declared by Lyndon Banes Johnson (D) has finally gone down to defeat under Barrack Hussein Obama (D). Is it time to bring the troops home, and leave the blighted remains of Democrat strongholds to implode and return to wilderness…
#15 During Obama’s first term, the number of Americans on food stamps increased by an average of about 11,000 per day.
President Food Stamp.
#16 When Barack Obama entered the White House, there were about 32 million Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 47 million Americans on food stamps.
Dependents are so much easier to control..
#17 At this point, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year.
But, this being a Democratic Administration, those homeless students are invisible to the LSM, and will remain so, until the next Republican Administration is sworn in.
#18 When Barack Obama took office, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $1.85. Today, it is $3.53.
The Obama Administration is particularly culpable on this front, as oil production on lands controlled by the Federal Government has plumeted due to policies restricting leasing of those lands. The only reason the cost of gasoline is not even higher is the explosion of extraction on state and private properties made possible by fracking and private investment.
#19 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.
One of the reasons the official measures of inflation remain low, even as the buying power of the middle class shrinks.
#20 Health insurance costs have risen by 29 percent since Barack Obama became president, and Obamacare is going to make things far worse.
This is also a large contributor to items 2 and 3 above.
#21 The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row.
See also regulatory uncertainty and thus impediments to business expansion.
#22 According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration…
Bush Sr.: 11.3
Clinton: 11.2
Bush Jr.: 10.8
Obama: 7.8
The only true growth under Obama has been in local, state, and Federal employment of regulators.
#23 In 2008, that total amount of student loan debt in this country was 440 billion dollars. At this point, it has shot up to about a trillion dollars.
The next credit bubble swells towards an inevitable and messy burst.
#24 According to one recent survey, 76 percent of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
And those living paycheck to paycheck are not making capital investments.
#25 During Obama’s first term, the number of Americans collecting federal disability insurance rose by more than 18 percent.
Thus taking that many more potentially productive persons from the market.
#26 The total amount of money that the federal government gives directly to the American people has grown by 32 percent since Barack Obama became president.
Again, dependents are much easier to control.
#27 According to the Survey of Income and Program Participation conducted by the U.S. Census, well over 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government.
Dependency as government policy.
#28 As I wrote about the other day, American households are now receiving more money directly from the federal government than they are paying to the government in taxes.
And if they vote to continue to receive ever increasing largess?
#29 Under Barack Obama, the velocity of money (a very important indicator of economic health) has plunged to a post-World War II low.
When one has less disposable income, one tends to be less impulsive in spending, and thus eschew smaller (and less cost effective) vendors who would in turn spend part of their income locally.
#30 At the end of 2008, the Federal Reserve held $475.9 billion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds. Today, Fed holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds have skyrocketed past the 2 trillion dollar mark.
Monetization of debt. The dollar is on very shaky ground indeed.
#31 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent. Today, it is up to 101 percent.
An unsustainable rate of spending.
#32 During Obama’s first term, the federal government accumulated more new debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.
This from a former candidate who questioned the loyalty of those who proposed to increase debt a tiny fraction of the debt he subsequently ran up
#33 When you break it down, the amount of new debt accumulated by the U.S. government during Obama’s first term comes to approximately $50,521 for every single household in the United States. Are you able to pay your share?
How long will those who work and earn continue to pay for that which benefits them not at all?
Hat Tip Google+
