Q.
A. A Congressional Quarterly study shows President Obama has a higher legislative success rate than any president in the more than 50 years CQ has been keeping track. And that's just part of the story. A sampling of the president's record shows that he has achieved more in his first year than many presidents do in two terms:
Economy
â¢Economic stimulus package, which rescued the world economy from collapse. Much of the money given to banks has been paid back with interest, and the president is pursuing a temporary tax on bailed out financial institutions in order to recover the rest. Many other policy victories were contained in the stimulus package; some are listed below
â¢Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), greatly strengthening protections against mortgage fraud
â¢Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, protecting against excessive rate increases and other abuses
â¢Unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for the unemployed and modernized state UI programs to cover more of the unemployed
â¢Large new investments in the safety net, from food stamps (SNAP) to affordable housing to child care
â¢Auto industry rescue, which saved tens of thousands of jobs and stabilized the economies of Michigan and other auto-industry states
â¢Billions in stimulus funding for broadband internet access
Health
â¢Three major health bills:
â¦SCHIP
â¦Tobacco regulation
â¦Stimulus funds for Medicaid, COBRA subsidies, health information technology and the National Institutes of Health
â¢Stem cell research protections
â¢Reversal of the Bush ban on funding overseas family planning clinics
International Relations
â¢Withdrawal from Iraq proceeding on schedule, resources redirected to Afghanistan-Pakistan region as promised
â¢End of torture and closure of CIA "black sites"
â¢Closure of Guantanamo Bay prison under way
â¢Transformation of relations with the Arab world through the Cairo speech and other measures. Reconnection with Latin America and other regions.
â¢Restoration of the United States' ranking as the most admired country in the world
â¢Nobel Peace Prize
Energy & Environment
â¢Protection of 2 million acres from oil and gas drilling and other development
â¢Gas mileage improvements, with requirements rising to 35mpg
â¢Stimulus expansion of state energy conservation programs such as weatherization
â¢Stimulus support for transit programs and hybrid / electric vehicle production
â¢Stimulus funds for new smart grid investments
Education
â¢Billions in stimulus funding for education, with a focus on improved performance under Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a renowned reformer
â¢Race to the Top: performance-based state education assistance
â¢$5 billion in new funding for Head Start
Civil Rights
â¢Lilly Ledbetter gender equity and Equal Pay laws
â¢Hate crimes protections for gays, lesbians and others
â¢Reform of the Justice Department, including the end of politicized appointments and a dramatic increase in enforcement by the Civil Rights Division
â¢Confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as the first Latina ever to serve on the Supreme Court
Labor
â¢Labor rights reinforced, from project labor agreements to protecting the rights of contractor employees on federal jobs
â¢Unionization made easier for airline and railway workers, while labor officials were appointed who will strengthen overall freedom to form unions
Open Government
â¢Historic Open Government Initiative: As the government reform coalition Democracy21 reported, the Obama administration has adopted "the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an Administration to govern its own activities."
â¢Internet access to government data (e.g. via data.gov) in forms that enable and encourage the development of new information sharing applications.
â¢Organizing For America, a nation-wide "citizens lobby" that provides a powerful new vehicle for grassroots involvement in governing.
Public Service
â¢Edward M Kennedy Serve America Act, which seeks to reinvigorate our culture of national service and provide new opportunities for service to all who want to respond.
Economy
â¢Economic stimulus package, which rescued the world economy from collapse. Much of the money given to banks has been paid back with interest, and the president is pursuing a temporary tax on bailed out financial institutions in order to recover the rest. Many other policy victories were contained in the stimulus package; some are listed below
â¢Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), greatly strengthening protections against mortgage fraud
â¢Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, protecting against excessive rate increases and other abuses
â¢Unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for the unemployed and modernized state UI programs to cover more of the unemployed
â¢Large new investments in the safety net, from food stamps (SNAP) to affordable housing to child care
â¢Auto industry rescue, which saved tens of thousands of jobs and stabilized the economies of Michigan and other auto-industry states
â¢Billions in stimulus funding for broadband internet access
Health
â¢Three major health bills:
â¦SCHIP
â¦Tobacco regulation
â¦Stimulus funds for Medicaid, COBRA subsidies, health information technology and the National Institutes of Health
â¢Stem cell research protections
â¢Reversal of the Bush ban on funding overseas family planning clinics
International Relations
â¢Withdrawal from Iraq proceeding on schedule, resources redirected to Afghanistan-Pakistan region as promised
â¢End of torture and closure of CIA "black sites"
â¢Closure of Guantanamo Bay prison under way
â¢Transformation of relations with the Arab world through the Cairo speech and other measures. Reconnection with Latin America and other regions.
â¢Restoration of the United States' ranking as the most admired country in the world
â¢Nobel Peace Prize
Energy & Environment
â¢Protection of 2 million acres from oil and gas drilling and other development
â¢Gas mileage improvements, with requirements rising to 35mpg
â¢Stimulus expansion of state energy conservation programs such as weatherization
â¢Stimulus support for transit programs and hybrid / electric vehicle production
â¢Stimulus funds for new smart grid investments
Education
â¢Billions in stimulus funding for education, with a focus on improved performance under Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a renowned reformer
â¢Race to the Top: performance-based state education assistance
â¢$5 billion in new funding for Head Start
Civil Rights
â¢Lilly Ledbetter gender equity and Equal Pay laws
â¢Hate crimes protections for gays, lesbians and others
â¢Reform of the Justice Department, including the end of politicized appointments and a dramatic increase in enforcement by the Civil Rights Division
â¢Confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as the first Latina ever to serve on the Supreme Court
Labor
â¢Labor rights reinforced, from project labor agreements to protecting the rights of contractor employees on federal jobs
â¢Unionization made easier for airline and railway workers, while labor officials were appointed who will strengthen overall freedom to form unions
Open Government
â¢Historic Open Government Initiative: As the government reform coalition Democracy21 reported, the Obama administration has adopted "the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an Administration to govern its own activities."
â¢Internet access to government data (e.g. via data.gov) in forms that enable and encourage the development of new information sharing applications.
â¢Organizing For America, a nation-wide "citizens lobby" that provides a powerful new vehicle for grassroots involvement in governing.
Public Service
â¢Edward M Kennedy Serve America Act, which seeks to reinvigorate our culture of national service and provide new opportunities for service to all who want to respond.
WSJ- What impact will yesterday's important economic news have on the Presidential race?
Q. More economic evidence that the U.S. continues to do better than most other advanced economies of the world despite the fact that economists have been saying the weak global economy, especially the Euro-crisis, has slowed our recovery.
The conservative Wall Street Journal reports today after recent reports showing unemployment dropping and consumer confidence growing, now retail sales increased beating analysts expectations.
WSJ- a survey from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment hitting its highest level since before the recession. Other polls and surveys also have shown Americans becoming more positive about the economy.
Such optimism comes despite a weakening global outlook that has dragged down exports and hurt manufacturers. The domestic economy (the U.S.) is doing better even as the export side is weakening (because of a poor global economy).
Economists said the current rebound may reflect a broader improvement in household finances. Job growth has been slow but relatively steady over the past two years, and incomes are rising again. The stock market has been strong and the long-moribund housing market is finally beginning to
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443675404578058291688750404.html
In August we learned housing had it's first positive year June 2011-2012 since the Great Recession.
Today Business Insider reports DEUTSCHE BANK says"The Housing Market Is Telling Us The Rest Of The Economy Will Accelerate Within Months.'...this recovery in housing is important because housing is what led the U.S. economy into a recession, and is part of the reason the recovery has been so slow"
http://www.businessinsider.com/lavorgna-housing-recovery-is-for-real-2012-10#ixzz29OwbBsRZ
John Walsh, president, Total Mortgage Services- not a big Obama fan- has said "I believe President Obama can claim a victory in the housing war to date".
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/242905-obamas-housing-victory
See the Official charts on economic growth at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/Documents/20120502_EconomicGrowth.pdf
The conservative Wall Street Journal reports today after recent reports showing unemployment dropping and consumer confidence growing, now retail sales increased beating analysts expectations.
WSJ- a survey from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment hitting its highest level since before the recession. Other polls and surveys also have shown Americans becoming more positive about the economy.
Such optimism comes despite a weakening global outlook that has dragged down exports and hurt manufacturers. The domestic economy (the U.S.) is doing better even as the export side is weakening (because of a poor global economy).
Economists said the current rebound may reflect a broader improvement in household finances. Job growth has been slow but relatively steady over the past two years, and incomes are rising again. The stock market has been strong and the long-moribund housing market is finally beginning to
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443675404578058291688750404.html
In August we learned housing had it's first positive year June 2011-2012 since the Great Recession.
Today Business Insider reports DEUTSCHE BANK says"The Housing Market Is Telling Us The Rest Of The Economy Will Accelerate Within Months.'...this recovery in housing is important because housing is what led the U.S. economy into a recession, and is part of the reason the recovery has been so slow"
http://www.businessinsider.com/lavorgna-housing-recovery-is-for-real-2012-10#ixzz29OwbBsRZ
John Walsh, president, Total Mortgage Services- not a big Obama fan- has said "I believe President Obama can claim a victory in the housing war to date".
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/242905-obamas-housing-victory
See the Official charts on economic growth at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/Documents/20120502_EconomicGrowth.pdf
A. The first two people who answered lack an education. The Koch Brothers are worth twice what they were in 2008. The stock market has never increased by this large of a margin ever in its history. Unemployment was forecasted to hit 20% when Obama was elected and today according to Gallup it's at 7.3, that's insanely close to 6%. Obama and Democrats have been great for the economy despite Republicans voting down a jobs bill and a veterans' jobs bill and putting the economy on the brink of absolute failure with the debt deal just because they don't like Obama's political party and/or race. They were perfectly willing to raise the debt ceiling for both Bushes and Reagan multiple times, as were Democrats.
Edit:
Tyler,
Clearly Americans don't know a lot about the economy, they voted for Bush twice and look what he did to the economy. Half of them still think supply side economics work, a policy only supported by three sitting presidents, ever, and they all presided over pretty bad economic times. The president has absolutely zero control over gas prices, in fact think of how high they'd be if Obama hadn't expanded domestic oil drilling. Our country isn't doing better than the socialist countries in Europe, Sweden and Norway are two examples of countries with socialist policies that are better off than we are. We've been printing money to make up for the lack of money to pay down debt since Bush was in office and Republicans were okay with it then, I'm just asking for a little consistency from them. This is the first substantial, long term recovery since WWII and we're doing it without raising taxes substantially (in fact we cut taxes on the middle class) and with a political party that refuses to follow sound economic policies and ideals, pass a jobs bill, or make a plan for substantial economic growth. In fact, the GOP candidate for the presidency won't even tell you the math behind his tax plan or his economic plan, he just say "trust me, I'm a businessman" but I don't trust him, one of his plants in Illinois is flying the Chinese flag in front of it and they're shipping the jobs in that plant overseas to China on November 5th. I see no reason to vote for the Republican based on economic values.
-Bill
Edit:
Tyler,
Clearly Americans don't know a lot about the economy, they voted for Bush twice and look what he did to the economy. Half of them still think supply side economics work, a policy only supported by three sitting presidents, ever, and they all presided over pretty bad economic times. The president has absolutely zero control over gas prices, in fact think of how high they'd be if Obama hadn't expanded domestic oil drilling. Our country isn't doing better than the socialist countries in Europe, Sweden and Norway are two examples of countries with socialist policies that are better off than we are. We've been printing money to make up for the lack of money to pay down debt since Bush was in office and Republicans were okay with it then, I'm just asking for a little consistency from them. This is the first substantial, long term recovery since WWII and we're doing it without raising taxes substantially (in fact we cut taxes on the middle class) and with a political party that refuses to follow sound economic policies and ideals, pass a jobs bill, or make a plan for substantial economic growth. In fact, the GOP candidate for the presidency won't even tell you the math behind his tax plan or his economic plan, he just say "trust me, I'm a businessman" but I don't trust him, one of his plants in Illinois is flying the Chinese flag in front of it and they're shipping the jobs in that plant overseas to China on November 5th. I see no reason to vote for the Republican based on economic values.
-Bill
Where is all the help illegals are suppose to possesses California's unemployment rate stays steady at 12.4%?
Q. California employers cut more workers from their staffs in December, capping a dismal year in which the state lost more than half a million jobs.
Payrolls shrank by 38,800 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate remained flat at 12.4% from the revised figure in November, which previously was pegged at 12.3%.
The state has the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, after Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island and South Carolina, and economists expect it to lag as the construction and retail sectors continue to struggle. Overall, the nation lost 85,000 jobs in December, but its unemployment rate remained at 10%.
Over the last two years, California has lost more than 1 million jobs.
"California is in worse shape than the country in a lot of ways," said Dan Seiver, an economics professor at San Diego State University. "It's probable that the recovery here might be even more sputtering than the nation as a whole."
The state's unemployment rate in December 2008 was 8.7%. In 2009, it jumped to double digits, where economists expect it to remain for this year.
The bursting of the housing bubble has flattened California's construction sector. California has shed more than 300,000 construction jobs -- nearly one-third of the industry's labor force -- since the sector peaked at 948,500 jobs in February 2006, according to state figures.
The state in 2009 probably set a record for the fewest homes produced in a single year since at least 1954, the California Building Industry Assn. said last month. Although the data are not yet final, the association forecast that 35,600 homes would be built in 2009, the lowest number since it began keeping track in 1954.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-caljobs23-2010jan23,0,3131833.story
Payrolls shrank by 38,800 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate remained flat at 12.4% from the revised figure in November, which previously was pegged at 12.3%.
The state has the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, after Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island and South Carolina, and economists expect it to lag as the construction and retail sectors continue to struggle. Overall, the nation lost 85,000 jobs in December, but its unemployment rate remained at 10%.
Over the last two years, California has lost more than 1 million jobs.
"California is in worse shape than the country in a lot of ways," said Dan Seiver, an economics professor at San Diego State University. "It's probable that the recovery here might be even more sputtering than the nation as a whole."
The state's unemployment rate in December 2008 was 8.7%. In 2009, it jumped to double digits, where economists expect it to remain for this year.
The bursting of the housing bubble has flattened California's construction sector. California has shed more than 300,000 construction jobs -- nearly one-third of the industry's labor force -- since the sector peaked at 948,500 jobs in February 2006, according to state figures.
The state in 2009 probably set a record for the fewest homes produced in a single year since at least 1954, the California Building Industry Assn. said last month. Although the data are not yet final, the association forecast that 35,600 homes would be built in 2009, the lowest number since it began keeping track in 1954.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-caljobs23-2010jan23,0,3131833.story
A. Even old Gov. terminator is now admitting the cost of illegal aliens and actually thinks the government should reimburse him for jailing the same criminals he wants to stay. Vote him out too.
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