The recent release of anemic quarterly economic-growth numbers for 2016 has revived the debate over the Obama economy. Some say it has been okay; some say it has been lousy. In truth, the economy under President Barack Obama has been historically bad. How bad? Adjusted for inflation, average yearly GDP growth under President Obama has been less than half of what it was under President Jimmy Carter, 1.5 percent to 3.3 percent.

According to figures from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the source for all of the figures provided herein, average annual GDP growth in the post-World War II era has been 2.9 percent. By far the worst year in that stretch was the first, when in the immediate aftermath of the war, GDP declined more than four times as much (-11.6 percent) as it has in any year since. From 1947-onward, average annual GDP growth has been 3.2 percent.