Has Pres. Obama been good for the country? These stats tell the story of his great success.
As President Obama’s term draws to a close, now is a good time to look at the statistical success of his presidency.
As NBC News reports,
The nation’s unemployment rate declined more than three percentage points; the Dow Jones average has more than doubled; income is up (but only slightly); poverty is down (but barely); the number of Americans without health insurance was cut in half; the federal budget deficit is down; and the numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are a fraction of what they were in 2009.
The specific statistics were gathered by NBC News, with the “then” figure being the best available number for when Obama took over the presidency in January 2009 and the “now” number being the most recent figure.
- Unemployment: then 7.8%, now 4.6%, difference 3.2%
- Down Jones Industrial Average: then 7949.09, now 19170.42, difference 11,2221.33
- Gross Domestic Product Growth: then <-5.4%>, now 3.2%, difference 8.6%
- Consumer Confidence: then 37.4, now 107.1, difference 69.7
- Median Household Income: then 54,988, now 56,516, difference 1,528
- Americans Living Below the Poverty Line: then 43.6 million, now 43.1 million, difference <-500,000>
- Americans Without Health Insurance: then 49 million, now 29.8 million, difference <-19.2 million>
- Federal Budget Deficit: then <-$1.4 trillion>, now $590 billion, difference $1.99 trillion
- Federal Spending as a percentage of GDP: then 24.4%, now 21.4% (projected for fiscal year 2016), difference <-3%>
- Number of U.S. Troops in Iraq: then 139,500, now 5,200, difference <-134,300>
- Number of U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: then 34,400, now 9,800, difference <-24,600>
Samuel is a writer, social activist, and all-around troublemaker.
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