As you know, one of the reasons that President Obama and the Democrats were crucified in last months midterm elections is because of the economy. here are some glimpses from DailyMarkets.com:
"#1 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. Today, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate has been at 9.5 percent or greater for more than a year.
#2 At Thanksgiving back in 2006, 26 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, there are over 42 million Americans on food stamps and that number is climbing rapidly.
#3 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States fell from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. Median household income declined the year before that too. Meanwhile, prices have continued to rise throughout that period.
#4 At the end of the third quarter in 2006, 47 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”. At the end of the third quarter in 2010, 860 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”.
#5 California home builders began construction on 1,811 homes during the month of August, which was down 77% from August 2006.
#6 In 2006, new home sales in the United States were near record highs. In 2010, new home sales in the United States are at record lows as the following graph from Calculated Risk demonstrates….
#7 A recent survey of last year’s college graduates found that 80 percent moved right back home with their parents after graduation. That was up substantially from 63 percent in 2006.
#8 According to one analysis, the United States has lost a total of 10.5 million jobs since 2007.
#9 In 2006, the Social Security program took in somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 billion more dollars than it paid out. Of course the U.S. government spent all that money instead of setting it aside. So now more U.S. retirees than ever are ready to start drawing on Social Security and a “tipping point” is rapidly coming. Social Security will pay out more in benefits in 2010 than it receives in payroll taxes. This was not supposed to happen until at least 2015, and the years ahead look very, very grim….
#10 The U.S. government’s debt ceiling has been raised six times since the beginning of 2006.
#11 In 2006, the U.S. national debt was getting close to 9 trillion dollars. Today, the U.S. national debt is well past 13 trillion dollars and is rapidly closing in on 14 trillion dollars.
So is there much hope for an economic turnaround any time soon?
No, not really.
Even the Federal Reserve, usually one of the biggest cheerleaders for the U.S. economy, is not very optimistic right now. In fact, the Fed has just announced that they are projecting that unemployment will still be at about 8 percent when the next presidential election arrives in 2012.
Actually, if the official unemployment rate was to get that low by then that would really be something to celebrate. Many economists fear that unemployment will be even higher than it is now by then."
Obviously President Bush was a part of it. He made some missteps on the domestic side. However, he was aided by a Democrat controlled congress that was sworn in back in January 2007. You know, the one that has those abysmal approval ratings, with soon to be ex House Speaker Nazzi Pelocchio, who was fired from her post last month.
Background Reading:
DailyMarkets.com: 11 Statistics That Reveal Just How Far The U.S. Economy Has Fallen Over The Past Four Years
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