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Stephen Moore gives President Obama a “D” on his economic report card

1024px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_ObamaBy Stephen Moore

From the Washington Times:

1. Economic growth: Anemic.

This recovery is a bust. The growth rate of 2 percent under Mr. Obama’s recovery compares to nearly 4 percent for Reagan and 3.5 percent for a normal recovery. This means we have $2 trillion less GDP today than we would if Obama’s performance had been average — i.e. a C grade — and $3 trillion behind the Reagan recovery — an A grade. If Mr. Obama had done as well as Mr. Reagan, we would have $24,000 higher annual output per household this year.

2. College and Health Costs: Skyrocketing

Mr. Obama promised to lower health costs by $2,500 per family. Oops. This year we have learned that many states are reporting insurance premium increases of 10, 20, and even 30 percent. Over the past decade, medical costs are up significantly.

University tuition costs are also surging despite Obama campaign pledges to make college more affordable. Compared to the 2008-2009 school year, tuition and fees at public 4-year colleges in 2014-2015 increased by about 37 percent. Meanwhile, tuition and fees at 4-year private nonprofit universities increased by about 26 percent to $31,000 a year. The more Mr. Obama throws at higher education, the more they raise their costs.

3. Real Unemployment Rate in America: 10 percent

The low unemployment rate of 5.1 percent that Mr. Obama boasts of is a statistical trick. The real rate of unemployment under Mr. Obama is almost twice as high. When counting underemployed part timers and those working age Americans who have dropped out of the labor force — mostly because they can’t find a job — is close to 10 percent. There are now more than 90 million Americans over the age of 16 that are not working — an all-time record high.

4. Take Home Pay: Falling

Since President Obama took office, real household income has fallen $1,748 (from January 2009 through June of this year). This represents a 3.1 percent decline in take-home pay. Real median weekly earnings have stagnated too. Since the fourth quarter of 2008 through the first half of 2015, median usual weekly earnings have been flat. Americans have not had a pay raise in almost 10 years.

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To learn more about Stephen Moore visit SupplySideEconomist.com

Photo Credit: Pete Souza

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