More Obama successes

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This list of Obama administration economic failures begins with the Weekly Standard:

President Obama likes to talk about income inequality, but what matters far more is the actual income of the typical American.  And how has the typical American household income fared on Obama’s watch?  Well, the economic “recovery” has now spanned an Olympiad, and during that time the typical American household income has not only dropped—it has dropped more than twice as much as it did during the recession.

New estimates derived from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey by Sentier Research indicate that the real (inflation-adjusted) median annual household income in America has fallen by 4.4 percent during the “recovery,” after having fallen by 1.8 during the recession.  During the recession, the median American household income fell by $1,002 (from $55,480 to $54,478). During the recovery—that is, from the officially defined end of the recession (in June 2009) to the most recent month for which figures are available (June 2013)—the median American household income has fallen by $2,380 (from $54,478 to $52,098).  So the typical American household is making almost $2,400 less per year (in constant 2013 dollars) than it was four years ago, when the Obama “recovery” began.

With no prospect of improvement ahead, reports Business Insider:

In a new report, JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli explains why the country’s future isn’t what it used to be by demonstrating that potential GDP growth – a proxy for the long-run trend growth rate – in the United States has fallen below 2%.

“As recently as the late 1990s, potential growth in the U.S. was estimated to be around 3.5%; by our estimates that figure has recently fallen by half, to 1.75%,” says Feroli.

Potential growth is a function of two variables: the growth of America’s workforce, and growth in that group’s productivity levels.

Unfortunately, the first variable – labor force growth – has slowed dramatically in the last decade.

“According to the February 2013 CBO estimates, for example, potential growth of the labor supply has been irregularly slowing from 2.5% annual growth from 1974-1981 to only 0.8% from 2002-12 and is projected to slow further to only 0.6% over the next five years,” says Feroli. “The slowdown in potential labor force growth has been accompanied by a similar slowdown in actual labor supply.” …

Part of that decline in working-age population growth, in turn, has to do with a big slowdown in immigration to the United States. …

The JPMorgan report attributes the post-2005 slowdown in labor productivity growth largely to declines in technological innovation.

“The slowing in the pace of high-tech capital spending—which began before the last downturn and has persisted even as other types of capital spending have rebounded—is the principal reason we look for subdued productivity growth,” says Feroli.

Why is capital spending on IT equipment slowing?

Prices of computers and software – adjusted for quality – are declining at the slowest rate in years. This implies that innovation in these sectors isn’t as great as it used to be.

Zero Hedge has still more good news:

#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. …

#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.

#4 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers now make less than $30,000 a year. …

#6 When the Obama era began, the average duration of unemployment in this country was 19.8 weeks.  Today, it is 36.6 weeks.

#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. …

#13 Median household income in America has fallen for four consecutive years.  Overall, it has declined by over $4000 during that time span.

#14 The poverty rate has shot up to 16.1 percent.  That is actually higher than when the War on Poverty began in 1965.

#15 During Obama’s first term, the number of Americans on food stamps increased by an average of about 11,000 per day.

#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. …

#18 When Barack Obama took office, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $1.85.  Today, it is $3.53.

#19 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

#20 Health insurance costs have risen by 29 percent since Barack Obama became president, and Obamacare is going to make things far worse.

#21 The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row. …

#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.

#32 During Obama’s first term, the federal government accumulated more new debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.

#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?

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