Two years into Obama

[aztecwin]

and his "hope and Change".

Two Years Later


January 2009
TODAY
% chg
Source

Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S.
$1.83
$3.104
69.6%
1

Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)
$43.48
$99.02
127.7%
2

Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)
$38.74
$91.38
135.9%
2

Gold: London (per troy oz.)
$853.25
$1,369.50
60.5%
2

Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL
$3.56
$6.33
78.1%
2

Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL
$9.66
$13.75
42.3%
2

Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob
$13.37
$35.39
164.7%
2

Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall
7.6%
9.4%
23.7%
3

Unemployment rate, blacks
12.6%
15.8%
25.4%
3

Number of unemployed
11,616,000
14,485,000
24.7%
3

Number of fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim)
2,779,000
2,840,000
2.2%
3

Real median household income (2008 v 2009)
$50,112
$49,777
-0.7%
4

Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10)
31,983,716
43,200,878
35.1%
5

Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10)
7,526,598
9,193,838
22.2%
6

Number of long-term unemployed
2,600,000
6,400,000
146.2%
3

Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009)
13.2%
14.3%
8.3%
4

People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009)
39,800,000
43,600,000
9.5%
4

U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings
5
9
n/a
10

Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10)
29.9
23.5
-21.4%
11

Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date)
140
164
17.1%
12

U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate
89.76
82.03
-8.6%
2

U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)
1,575.1
1,865.7
18.4%
13

U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)
8,310.9
8,852.3
6.5%
13

National debt, in trillions
$10.627
$14.052
32.2%
14


Sources:

1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury

[JOCAZTEC]

Did you get the stats on his smoking?

90% Marlboro Red in 2009,
80% Marlboro Red in 2011.

10% Washington Pall Mall in 2009,
20% Washington Pall Mall in 2011.

Smokey the Bear with shovel minds want to know!

HAM

[Aztec89]

I am having Jimmy Carter flashbacks. Maybe Bob Marley will come back and play the Sports Arena again.

[AlwaysAnAztec]

Just goes to show that we haven't recovered from GWB and his wars which were paid for by the national credit card.

[aztec70]

aztecwin, it looks like someone did some work to compile that data. Don't know if it was you, or if you cut and pasted from someone else. However, whoever did it has forgotten, or never learned how to do footnotes. Simply saying that the source is, say, The Wall Street Journal, is worthless. I know it has been a long time since college, but when you use a periodical as a source you are to tell when the article was published and what page it is on. Otherwise there is no way to verify the information. That is the case for every comment made. No source, no ability to verify. I give this paper a "D".

[aztec70]

Feb 15, 2011 9:40:35 GMT -8 AlwaysAnAztec said:

Just goes to show that we haven't recovered from GWB and his wars which were paid for by the national credit card.

It took us more that a generation to overcome Hoover. Who knows how long it will take to overcome the mess Bush left.

Speaking to the original post, I am not sure Obama is the man to do it. He seems more like Bush lite to me. God save us if another "real" Republican is elected. We will be damned for sure.

[Deleted]

Feb 15, 2011 10:16:07 GMT -8 aztec70 said:

Feb 15, 2011 9:40:35 GMT -8 AlwaysAnAztec said:

Just goes to show that we haven't recovered from GWB and his wars which were paid for by the national credit card.

It took us more that a generation to overcome Hoover. Who knows how long it will take to overcome the mess Bush left.

Speaking to the original post, I am not sure Obama is the man to do it. He seems more like Bush lite to me. God save us if another "real" Republican is elected. We will be damned for sure.

Yes. That is correct, all pols are the same.... None of them are interested in trying to clean up the mess that has been created over the last 50+ years. Ultimately, all any pol, no matter the party, is interested in is staying in power. Yes, I know a dim view but it is the truth because the mess is just too big.

But, you'all needn't worry, you can all just occupy your time pointing fingers at which party is at fault and who is not doing enough or too much. (This comment is not specifically directed at you 70. Just a general comment about party politics.)