If you listen to the Radical Right, you have heard that President Obama is many things; a Kenyan, an anti-Colonial, a Socialist, a Muslim, a Hitler clone, an inept newbie who doesn’t understand and is unfriendly toward business, but mainly, a big spending, economic recovery killing, Yellow Dog, Liberal Democrat. In the event you are a regular listener to Fox News, you have heard all those things, and…the fact of the matter is, you heard wrong. He is not, nor has he ever been any of those things.
I will be the first to admit, the President is not a denizen of Wall Street. High Finance is not his strongest suit, but like any Commander-in-Chief, he does not have to be the smartest person in the room, on every conceivable subject.
Moreover, it is probably best if he is not. Among his primary tasks is assembling a formidable team, capable of effectively tackling whatever problems may confront our country. As we approach the midpoint of the first year of Mr. Obama’s second term, all indications are the President’s economic advisors have succeeded in their part of this endeavor. They helped him chart a course and execute a plan that has successfully revived an economy so moribund, that at it's nadir, it was widely considered the country’s worst since the Great Depression; hence, commonly referred to as the Great Recession.
Political opponents have maligned POTUS as being the incarnation of every negative icon imaginable from the anti-Christ to the epitome of anti-business. Yet, a strange new meme has emerged recently. In the May 16th Edition of Forbes Magazine, Adam Hartung, who covers business growth and overcoming organizational obstacles for the magazine penned an article in which he shares an interview with Bob Deitrick, Co-author of “Bulls, Bears, and the Ballot Box (BBBB).” Mr. Deitrick articulates a clear and compelling case that President Obama’s leadership and resultant policies have directly influenced the course of what is now, at least arguably, a resurgent economy. Specifically, the author credits President Obama with the facts that:
·
The auto rescue plan worked
·
Wall Street reform has served to re-instated faith
among investors
·
Markets are more predictable; a sign of increased
faith, decreased risk
·
Small investors (i.e., those limited to 401(k) or IRA
investments) have experienced an annual compound return of more than 24% since
the lows of March 2009. By the way, that
is a better record than Clinton, Reagan, or Roosevelt, the previous winners
cited in BBBB
It is appropriate, if not
necessary, to place in proper context the depths of the 2009 economic decline. At
the end of the Clinton
In sifting through the granular details, it is important to
note that President Clinton left office
with a budget surplus; President Bush,
conversely, left America
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is now reporting a $200 Billion decrease in the
deficit. This de-escalation is attributable,
primarily, to increased revenue from a growing economy, higher taxes on the
wealthiest Americans, a fairer tax code, improved regulation, and consistent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement. Undoubtedly, the proponents of Supply-Side Economics are apoplectic, as this
economic rebound represents a counter-intuitive
fact to challenge their exuberantly
held theory. The deficit is down to 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); it was over 10% at the end of George W.
Bush’s Presidency.
Conservatives have raised the Spirit of Ronald Reagan to near sainthood. Yet, for all the honorifics conferred upon
the Great Communicator, and despite the short-term
memory cycle we routinely afford politicians, the inconvenient truth is President
Reagan tripled the national debt during his tenure. In doing so, he created what his contemporary
legion of followers might call “a legacy
of unpayable debt for our grandchildren.”
No wonder, latter day Conservatives
managed to develop an inexplicable affinity for Bill Clinton. His tax
policies erased Ronny’s Ocean of debt.
Back to the present. In summary, Deitrick suggests President
Obama, whose administration has shown little to no proclivity to take credit from the upsurge in economic indicators,
should do so. In reality, how you see
the President’s performance, in economic
terms, is likely to depend on the trajectory
of your personal economy. If you are a Wall Street Dom, in all likelihood, you have made a mint during the
recovery. As noted earlier, if you have
a 401(k) or an IRA, chances are, you have done pretty well.
Naturally, there are still those
who are yet to have their economic ships elevated by the rising economic tide. Nevertheless, odds are there few instances in
which individuals, given the choice, would swap their present day economy for
the one they had in 2009. Therefore, I implore you. Take a moment to…“Consider President Obama’s Economy: You Might Be Surprised!”
I’m done; holla back!
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For more detailed
information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult
the links below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
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