Judging Obama's Handling of the Budget and the Economy Fairly

[edthecynic]

Yes, the spending restraint from 2012 through 2015 was because of the sequester, but Obama agreed to the sequester--he could have vetoed it, but he did not.

Don't you mean the "#OBAMAQUESTER?"

 

[edthecynic]

Obama funneled taxpayer money off to his pals in the Dem party who then donated some of it back to their campaigns.

Another Limbaugh Lie.

 

[edthecynic]

Barney Frank who had oversight responsibility for Fannie Mae let it collapse on his watch.

Bullshit, Frank was a POWERLESS minority member of the committee, you IDIOTS need to come up with better lies.

 

[edthecynic]

The GDP never even came close to 3% during Hussein's 8 years

It actually hit 5.2% under Obama, the best Tramp has done so far is 3.2%.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

The bottom line is that Obama did a pretty decent job on the economy and a poor job on the budget. That said, Obama did a better job on the economy and on the budget than Bush did. Obama increased the national debt by 68%, way too much, but Bush jacked up the debt by 101%.

Unfortunately, Obama's recovery included historically long stretches of high U-6 unemployment and weak or tepid GDP growth. Why? Because he over-regulated, because he imposed Obamacare, and because he did virtually nothing to help big business. Helping small businesses is all fine and dandy, and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit is also a smart move, but big businesses employ tens of millions of Americans and have the capacity to do a great deal of good for the economy when their tax and regulatory burdens are lightened, a fact that Obama did not grasp. But, again, overall, Obama did a pretty decent job on the economy, and he did a better job on the budget than Bush did.

Obama increased the national debt by 68%, way too much, but Bush jacked up the debt by 101%.

You're mistaken.

No, those numbers are accurate.

Which President Increased U.S. Debt the Most?

You can't use just gross dollar amounts, because they are misleading. The key measurement is the percentage by which the debt increased.

No, those numbers are accurate.

Debt to the penny shows Bush and Obama added almost identical percentages.
I could go even deeper and show you how Obama actually added a lot more, but why bother?

 

[mikegriffith1]

The bottom line is that Obama did a pretty decent job on the economy and a poor job on the budget. That said, Obama did a better job on the economy and on the budget than Bush did. Obama increased the national debt by 68%, way too much, but Bush jacked up the debt by 101%.

Unfortunately, Obama's recovery included historically long stretches of high U-6 unemployment and weak or tepid GDP growth. Why? Because he over-regulated, because he imposed Obamacare, and because he did virtually nothing to help big business. Helping small businesses is all fine and dandy, and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit is also a smart move, but big businesses employ tens of millions of Americans and have the capacity to do a great deal of good for the economy when their tax and regulatory burdens are lightened, a fact that Obama did not grasp. But, again, overall, Obama did a pretty decent job on the economy, and he did a better job on the budget than Bush did.

Obama increased the national debt by 68%, way too much, but Bush jacked up the debt by 101%.

You're mistaken.

No, those numbers are accurate.

Which President Increased U.S. Debt the Most?

You can't use just gross dollar amounts, because they are misleading. The key measurement is the percentage by which the debt increased.

No, those numbers are accurate.

Debt to the penny shows Bush and Obama added almost identical percentages.
I could go even deeper and show you how Obama actually added a lot more, but why bother?

I'll be doggoned. I checked The Balance's math, and they are wrong, and you are right. When Bush took office, the debt was $5.7 trillion. When he left office, the debt was $10.6 trillion. Amount of increase: 86%. When Obama took office, the debt was $10.6 trillion. When he left office, the debt was $19.9 trillion. Amount of increase: 87%.

Before I posted the OP, I checked The Balance's math on the jobs numbers but not on the debt percentage numbers. If I use their stuff again, I'll need to check all of their numbers! Thank you for the correction.

 

[AntonToo]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

Obama spend 870 Billion on Stimulus and he made permanent almost all bush tax cuts. Everything else is right about wash with sequestrations.

“Debt increased under” is a fool’s metric of fiscal performance. You have to look at the policy.

 

[kaz]

Obama's handling of the budget and the economy was not as bad as most conservatives believe it was, and it is not as good as most liberals claim it was. Some points:

* True, Obama jacked up spending in his first year, but he actually imposed a net cut on spending the following year (2010), before sequestration was even debated, and he held spending to virtually flat-lined levels through 2015 (US Federal Spending Analysis - Charts Tables History). Yes, the spending restraint from 2012 through 2015 was because of the sequester, but Obama agreed to the sequester--he could have vetoed it, but he did not.

* In connection with the above, Obama increased the national debt by a much smaller percentage than Bush did. Bush increased the debt by 101%. Obama increased it by 68%, one-third less than Bush.

* During Obama's 8 years, 17 million new jobs were created, a 12.8% increase, which far surpasses Bush's record on job creation (Which President Created the Most Jobs?).

* Under Obama, we had 74 consecutive months of job growth, from October 2010 to December 2016 (Bureau of Labor Statistics Data).

* The biggest chunk of Obama's much-maligned stimulus packet was devoted to tax cuts. Of the $787 billion, $288 billion was for tax cuts. Another $275 billion was for job creation via federal contracts, grants, and loans.

* Obama signed numerous tax-cut measures, both for individuals and for small businesses. He also made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, against the advice of many liberal economists. Some of his other tax cuts included the following:

In 2010, President Obama signed an $858 billion tax cut deal. It extended the Bush tax cuts through 2012 and unemployment benefits through 2011. It cut payroll taxes by 2 percent, adding $120 million to workers' spendable income. It extended a college tuition tax credit. It also included $55 billion in industry-specific tax cuts. (https://www.thebalance.com/obama-tax-cuts-3306330; see also https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/taxes;
(https://www.cnbc.com/id/49261153; Obama Proposes Extending Small Business Tax Cuts Permanently | Andersen CPA Firm)​

* A typical family making $50,000 a year received tax cuts totaling $3,600 in President Obama’s first term, more if they were putting a child through college.

* Improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), enacted in 2009 under Obama and later made permanent provided roughly 16 million working families a year with a tax cut of about $900 on average.

* The 2015 budget deal lifted the sequester's caps but it also contained well over $600 billion in tax cuts/tax breaks and lifted the ban on oil exports.

Of course, there were some black marks. We actually lost manufacturing jobs under Obama, although the loss was relatively small--we went from 12,561,000 manufacturing jobs in January 2009 to 12,369,000 in January 2017. Another problem was that the stock market's growth was somewhat weak. Over-regulation was a drag on many business sectors. A sizable number of the new jobs that were created were modest-income jobs and part-time jobs, but the majority were good jobs. The U-6 rate, aka the "real unemployment rate," stayed unusually high for most of Obama's presidency. Obamacare caused many companies to change full-time positions to part-time positions to avoid having to offer health insurance.

On balance, Obama did a better of dealing with the budget and the economy than most conservatives give him credit for.

Obama had the same economic policies that W had. He claims he cured the economy while he implemented the same policies that got us in that mess to start with

 

[AntonToo]

Obama's handling of the budget and the economy was not as bad as most conservatives believe it was, and it is not as good as most liberals claim it was. Some points:

* True, Obama jacked up spending in his first year, but he actually imposed a net cut on spending the following year (2010), before sequestration was even debated, and he held spending to virtually flat-lined levels through 2015 (US Federal Spending Analysis - Charts Tables History). Yes, the spending restraint from 2012 through 2015 was because of the sequester, but Obama agreed to the sequester--he could have vetoed it, but he did not.

* In connection with the above, Obama increased the national debt by a much smaller percentage than Bush did. Bush increased the debt by 101%. Obama increased it by 68%, one-third less than Bush.

* During Obama's 8 years, 17 million new jobs were created, a 12.8% increase, which far surpasses Bush's record on job creation (Which President Created the Most Jobs?).

* Under Obama, we had 74 consecutive months of job growth, from October 2010 to December 2016 (Bureau of Labor Statistics Data).

* The biggest chunk of Obama's much-maligned stimulus packet was devoted to tax cuts. Of the $787 billion, $288 billion was for tax cuts. Another $275 billion was for job creation via federal contracts, grants, and loans.

* Obama signed numerous tax-cut measures, both for individuals and for small businesses. He also made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, against the advice of many liberal economists. Some of his other tax cuts included the following:

In 2010, President Obama signed an $858 billion tax cut deal. It extended the Bush tax cuts through 2012 and unemployment benefits through 2011. It cut payroll taxes by 2 percent, adding $120 million to workers' spendable income. It extended a college tuition tax credit. It also included $55 billion in industry-specific tax cuts. (https://www.thebalance.com/obama-tax-cuts-3306330; see also https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/taxes;
(https://www.cnbc.com/id/49261153; Obama Proposes Extending Small Business Tax Cuts Permanently | Andersen CPA Firm)​

* A typical family making $50,000 a year received tax cuts totaling $3,600 in President Obama’s first term, more if they were putting a child through college.

* Improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), enacted in 2009 under Obama and later made permanent provided roughly 16 million working families a year with a tax cut of about $900 on average.

* The 2015 budget deal lifted the sequester's caps but it also contained well over $600 billion in tax cuts/tax breaks and lifted the ban on oil exports.

Of course, there were some black marks. We actually lost manufacturing jobs under Obama, although the loss was relatively small--we went from 12,561,000 manufacturing jobs in January 2009 to 12,369,000 in January 2017. Another problem was that the stock market's growth was somewhat weak. Over-regulation was a drag on many business sectors. A sizable number of the new jobs that were created were modest-income jobs and part-time jobs, but the majority were good jobs. The U-6 rate, aka the "real unemployment rate," stayed unusually high for most of Obama's presidency. Obamacare caused many companies to change full-time positions to part-time positions to avoid having to offer health insurance.

On balance, Obama did a better of dealing with the budget and the economy than most conservatives give him credit for.

Obama had the same economic policies that W had. He claims he cured the economy while he implemented the same policies that got us in that mess to start with

He deregulated banks, allowed to take on more leverage, encouraged exotic mortgages and ran “ownership society” campaign?

Nuh.

 

[kaz]

Obama's handling of the budget and the economy was not as bad as most conservatives believe it was, and it is not as good as most liberals claim it was. Some points:

* True, Obama jacked up spending in his first year, but he actually imposed a net cut on spending the following year (2010), before sequestration was even debated, and he held spending to virtually flat-lined levels through 2015 (US Federal Spending Analysis - Charts Tables History). Yes, the spending restraint from 2012 through 2015 was because of the sequester, but Obama agreed to the sequester--he could have vetoed it, but he did not.

* In connection with the above, Obama increased the national debt by a much smaller percentage than Bush did. Bush increased the debt by 101%. Obama increased it by 68%, one-third less than Bush.

* During Obama's 8 years, 17 million new jobs were created, a 12.8% increase, which far surpasses Bush's record on job creation (Which President Created the Most Jobs?).

* Under Obama, we had 74 consecutive months of job growth, from October 2010 to December 2016 (Bureau of Labor Statistics Data).

* The biggest chunk of Obama's much-maligned stimulus packet was devoted to tax cuts. Of the $787 billion, $288 billion was for tax cuts. Another $275 billion was for job creation via federal contracts, grants, and loans.

* Obama signed numerous tax-cut measures, both for individuals and for small businesses. He also made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, against the advice of many liberal economists. Some of his other tax cuts included the following:

In 2010, President Obama signed an $858 billion tax cut deal. It extended the Bush tax cuts through 2012 and unemployment benefits through 2011. It cut payroll taxes by 2 percent, adding $120 million to workers' spendable income. It extended a college tuition tax credit. It also included $55 billion in industry-specific tax cuts. (https://www.thebalance.com/obama-tax-cuts-3306330; see also https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/taxes;
(https://www.cnbc.com/id/49261153; Obama Proposes Extending Small Business Tax Cuts Permanently | Andersen CPA Firm)​

* A typical family making $50,000 a year received tax cuts totaling $3,600 in President Obama’s first term, more if they were putting a child through college.

* Improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), enacted in 2009 under Obama and later made permanent provided roughly 16 million working families a year with a tax cut of about $900 on average.

* The 2015 budget deal lifted the sequester's caps but it also contained well over $600 billion in tax cuts/tax breaks and lifted the ban on oil exports.

Of course, there were some black marks. We actually lost manufacturing jobs under Obama, although the loss was relatively small--we went from 12,561,000 manufacturing jobs in January 2009 to 12,369,000 in January 2017. Another problem was that the stock market's growth was somewhat weak. Over-regulation was a drag on many business sectors. A sizable number of the new jobs that were created were modest-income jobs and part-time jobs, but the majority were good jobs. The U-6 rate, aka the "real unemployment rate," stayed unusually high for most of Obama's presidency. Obamacare caused many companies to change full-time positions to part-time positions to avoid having to offer health insurance.

On balance, Obama did a better of dealing with the budget and the economy than most conservatives give him credit for.

Obama had the same economic policies that W had. He claims he cured the economy while he implemented the same policies that got us in that mess to start with

He deregulated banks, allowed to take on more leverage, encouraged exotic mortgages and ran “ownership society” campaign?

Nuh.

Yes, he continued those Clinton's policies

 

[mikegriffith1]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

This myth has been debunked hundreds of times on this board. The Dem-controlled Congress jacked up spending for Bush's final fiscal year. Bush threatened to veto it, so the Dems held most off on most of it until Obama could sign it, which he did almost as soon as he took office. Go look at whose signature is on most of that spending.

 

[AntonToo]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

This myth has been debunked hundreds of times on this board. The Dem-controlled Congress jacked up spending for the final fiscal year. Bush threatened to veto it, so the Dems held most off on most of it until Obama could sign it, which he did almost as soon as he took office. Go look at whose signature is on most of that spending.

Lol you don’t know wtf you are talking about.

Half of 2009 deficit was not due to spending it was due to reciepts that fell through the floor as economy was in recession.

The other half was stiff like unemployment benefits increases from people getting laid off en-mass and TARP, a BUSH administration bill.

 

[kaz]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

He didn't. But you idiots keep saying W was responsible for 2001 which was Clinton's budget, W was responsible for the entire eight year Obama term and then Trump became responsible the day he took office so Obama wasn't ever responsible for anything

 

[kaz]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

This myth has been debunked hundreds of times on this board. The Dem-controlled Congress jacked up spending for the final fiscal year. Bush threatened to veto it, so the Dems held most off on most of it until Obama could sign it, which he did almost as soon as he took office. Go look at whose signature is on most of that spending.

Lol you don’t know wtf you are talking about.

Half of 2009 deficit was not due to spending it was due to reciepts that fell through the floor as economy was in recession.

The other half was stiff like unemployment benefits increases from people getting laid off en-mass and TARP, a BUSH administration bill.

The second TARP bill was Obama, not W.

And just to be clear, you blame Clinton, not W for the 2001 recession, that's what you're saying

 

[AntonToo]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

He didn't. But you idiots keep saying W was responsible for 2001 which was Clinton's budget, W was responsible for the entire eight year Obama term and then Trump became responsible the day he took office so Obama wasn't ever responsible for anything

Bullshit.

Bush blew up the budget with tax-cuts, unpaid-for wars and Medicaid part B.

That’s without blaming him for Great Recession.

 

[mikegriffith1]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

This myth has been debunked hundreds of times on this board. The Dem-controlled Congress jacked up spending for the final fiscal year. Bush threatened to veto it, so the Dems held most off on most of it until Obama could sign it, which he did almost as soon as he took office. Go look at whose signature is on most of that spending.

Lol you don’t know wtf you are talking about.

Half of 2009 deficit was not due to spending it was due to reciepts that fell through the floor as economy was in recession.

The other half was stiff like unemployment benefits increases from people getting laid off en-mass and TARP, a BUSH administration bill.

You might wanna broaden your reading on this issue. Here's one of my articles that have examined this matter:

President Obama: The Biggest Government Spender In World History

 

[kaz]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

He didn't. But you idiots keep saying W was responsible for 2001 which was Clinton's budget, W was responsible for the entire eight year Obama term and then Trump became responsible the day he took office so Obama wasn't ever responsible for anything

Bullshit.

Bush blew up the budget with tax-cuts, unpaid-for wars and Medicaid part B.

That’s without blaming him for Great Recession.

So medicare part D that was signed in 2003 and tax cuts in June, 2001 caused a recession that started in March, 2001. Got it.

Well, you're clear what you are

 

[deanrd]

Obama funneled taxpayer money off to his pals in the Dem party who then donated some of it back to their campaigns. His corruption is a stain on our great country.

That's ridiculous.

Especially when Trump's daughter made 82 million in a single year.

 

[deanrd]

Psst do you know what debt is? The sum of annual deficits.

2009 budget submitted by Bush in 2008 had 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit...how exactly did Obama cause that???

He didn't. But you idiots keep saying W was responsible for 2001 which was Clinton's budget, W was responsible for the entire eight year Obama term and then Trump became responsible the day he took office so Obama wasn't ever responsible for anything

Bullshit.

Bush blew up the budget with tax-cuts, unpaid-for wars and Medicaid part B.

That’s without blaming him for Great Recession.

So medicare part D that was signed in 2003 and tax cuts in June, 2001 caused a recession that started in March, 2001. Got it.

Well, you're clear what you are

The recession started in 2001?
So we had 8 years of recession?
Really?

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

I credit Obama with killing the recovery via his bullshit regulations and policies. The recovery took much longer than it should have.
Programs like cash for clunkers helped all the wrong people for instance. And why on earth were they required to destroy the trade ins rather than inspect them and give them out to the poor or veterans? Then you have him completely destroying the insurance industry.
His was an 8 years I hope we never have to repeat.