The Obama Agenda: Good For America
For some reason, it feels like the the waning few months of the Bush Administration happened ages ago. I remember it well; those were the “not so good old days” when the financial services industry and the American auto industry were crashing and burning. Those were the days when the stock market, along with everyone’s 401-K plans, was losing over 50% of its value, and the economy was shedding about 750,000 jobs per month. Yes, those were the “not so good old days” when fear gripped the American public, and the “doom and gloomers” told us that Barack Obama was going to ruin America by turning it into a socialist state. The simple fact is that Barack Obama has only been President for a little over one year, and the contrast to where we were back in January 2009 is nothing less than startling.
- Image by nDevilTV via Flickr
The Labor Department, which recently released the job numbers for March, said that the economy added 162,00 new payroll jobs during the month. This performance marked the first sign of substantial job growth since The Great Recession began, and the largest one-month increase in three years. Although the jobs growth numbers represent a positive trend headed in the right direction, they still are far below the job growth levels needed to move the unemployment rate down from around 9.75%. Most economists believe that the American economy needs to create around 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with the general population growth. In fact, the economy would have to create jobs at three time that level to make a dent in the unemployment rate, which is comprised of about fifteen million Americans currently looking for a job. The job growth numbers may be inadequate, but they are a great improvement over the 750,00 jobs per month lost in the first quarter of 2009.
The turnaround in the “jobs” numbers is only one clear indication of a slow but steady return to economic health in America. Another indication is the increase in the value of the stock market, which (measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average) has risen form a low of around 6,700 to just under 11,000 in a period of one year. Not only did the much-maligned Obama health care legislation provide relief from the consumer-unfriendly policies of the big insurance companies for millions of Americans, but it has proven (thus far) to be good for businesses, who have seen their stock values increase significantly. Contrary to the loud, bellicose and obstructionist tactics of elected officials in the Republican Party, the sky did not fall when health care reforms were passed, and the Earth continued to spin on its axis. The truth is that the first year of the Obama Administration has been very good for America by almost any standard of measurement.
As President Obama and the Congressional Democrats move ahead over the next several years with a progressive agenda, things will continue to improve across America. When the mid-term elections are held in November, Americans should look back over the last couple of years and marvel at how far we have come over such a short period of time, and to remember that the Republicans want nothing more than to unravel all that has been accomplished and to turn back the hands of time.
Rich
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somehow Rich I wonder if they (republicant’s) have gathered enough grits to understand that the changes mean more for them as well ?
it just beams a light onto their inability to move forward. republicant’ rigidity set in rather quickly. maybe it’s time to really call it what it is “Republican’t Rigormortus”. they would deny their supporters betterment to stop progress. do you think that if Biden was the Prez and made all these changes they’d feel the same way Rich ? it almost seems like it, sadly.
“The Labor Department, which recently released the job numbers for March, said that the economy added 162,00 new payroll jobs during the month.”
Real unemployment (U-6, including people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs.) is actually up to 16.9% from 16.8%. After you strip out the temporary govt. census jobs (48K), you’re only left with a gain of 114K private sector jobs. As long as the U-6 continues to move upward, the employment picture and the official unemployment rate (U-3) won’t improve much, if at all. And I don’t see any policies coming out of Washington that will spur job growth–just ask what companies like John Deere, Caterpillar, and AK Steel think.
“Another indication is the increase in the value of the stock market, which (measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average) has risen form a low of around 6,700 to just under 11,000 in a period of one year. Not only did the much-maligned Obama health care legislation provide relief from the consumer-unfriendly policies of the big insurance companies for millions of Americans, but it has proven (thus far) to be good for businesses, who have seen their stock values increase significantly.”
The stock market has been moving upwards for months, even when the likelihood for its passing were feeble (like after Scott Brown was elected to Ted Kennedy’s seat). The recovery is primarily due to the business cycle and hardly anything implemented by the Obama Administration. All Washington has successfully managed is more debt and a greater tax burden for future generations. The true test of Obama’s “progressive” policies will come in 2011 after the Bush tax cuts are eliminated and investors and businesses take money off the table in anticipation of higher costs.
If you like more IRS workers, higher taxes, and higher longterm unemployment then it’s a great thing.
Rich, I do think you are being overly optimistic, those of us understanding the precipice upon which this nation and economy rest look toward hope, we want normal again. Reality is normal may be gone forever. The paranoid man is not paranoid if indeed someone is trying to kill him. This nation is under attack from America’s own financial institutions and odds are that the money will win. But yes we still have to cling to hope, we also have to understand that the only thing that will revive this economy is the return of American manufacturing. This will not happen overnight, the Chineese have our manufacturing equiptment and tooling and if manufacturers decide to leave there Chineese tanks will be on the docks if manufacturers think they can ship our means of manufacture back here. It is quite the conundrum, bottom line being there will be no overnight restart of American manufacturing processes. That is why the pressures for the elemination of “Free Trade” and the re-protecting of American jobs is so imminent NOW. I do not want to disagree with you but little upticks of forward movement mean nothing without American factories producing goods right here at home.
I am an Obama supporter, I also have been disappointed by him realizing that major change will take time. You and I realizing this may be a minority, Americans want it now, Americans have lost sight of reality and look for pie in the sky now. This may be why Obama plays the game as he does, give the people positive stats and let them decieve themselves with false hopes. The upcoming elections for sure almost prescribe this methodology. Obama has to be given a fair chance, there is the learning curve, the extent of the damage that the Bush administration has done, thirty years of entrenched Republican rule(Clinton was a Republican), corporate mobilization against government and the fact that he recieves resistance just for being a black man. As they say, let us hope he is playing a game of chess not checkers. I certainly hope and do expect out of him that he shows his teeth after the elections, it is hell holding one’s breath though.
As for the stock market, from what I read, it is the scared banks proping it up, part of a campaign to convince the American public to start spending again. Americans are watching the foreclosure rates and those figures are being deceptionally presented. Banks are taking up to two years to foreclose, why, why so nice now? Two reasons, bank balance sheets cannot handle the write downs, they are in bad shape and slowing down official rates of foreclosure artificially maintains false higher property values. We are depression bound and we are being eased into it with the final result being a more protracted down turn. Depressions do not make for incumbancy and we will need Obama around for more than four years.
Bush…Bush…Bush…Bush…Bush…, do you want to scream? I do have to bite my tongue now and slam my fingers in the door to stop typing or I will not stop…GD Bush!!!…….I think I just did a blog post……..Bush…MFGD Bush!