When the financial crisis of 2008 roiled the American economy, children now in kindergarten had not yet been born. MySpace was still the world’s largest social networking site. People were still watching “Lost,” in the vain belief that the plot was actually going somewhere. People outside of government still used Blackberries. The Philadelphia Phillies were good, and the Seattle Seahawks were wretched. Jon and Kate Gosselin were still married.
You get the picture — that was a really, really long time ago.
For six years, President Obama has pleaded with Americans to be patient while he worked to restore the economy after a terrible crisis that preceded his inauguration. At first, it seemed like a reasonable request. But then he was still making it during his re-election effort. By now, it’s become the best running gag of his presidency.
Perhaps the task of restoring the economy from that crisis was beyond anyone’s power. But at this point it at least seems safe to say that it was well beyond Obama’s.
After six years of excuse-making, and as Americans prepare for the sixth anniversary of what was dubbed “recovery summer” in 2010, the U.S. economy continues to be disappointing and slow-growing. The share of Americans working for a living still hovers just above a multi-decade low.
And the Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that growth in the first quarter was a pathetic 0.2 percent — far below the economists’ already-low expectations of 1 percent growth.
And just to be clear, that’s an annual rate of 0.2 percent. Your savings account — assuming you didn’t have to raid it to keep up with your regular expenses — probably grew faster during those three months than the U.S. economy.
No, Obama does not have a completely free hand in shaping economic policy. Then again, who’s to say that hasn’t prevented things from getting even worse? Obama has announced many new “pivots” and signed many new laws since taking office in January 2009. Nothing he has done has moved the nation in the direction of strong growth again.
Obama has piled as many new obligations on employers as possible. He has pursued new healthcare mandates, environmental regulations and labor policies that keep big union bosses as fat and happy as they can be in the sunset years of the labor movement. But none of these policies ever held forth the promise of causing a burst of job creation. Not only has national job creation been slow — relying mostly on the booming Texas economy to pad the statistics — but non-farm business wages are actually lower now than they were in 2012.
As the presidential candidates for 2016 begin developing their economic agendas and talking points, Americans should pay close attention. Some of the candidates will talk up a populist-sounding economic agenda consisting of empty platitudes about inequality and proposals (minimum wage, for example) that not only won’t pass but also won’t help.
If you want to repeat or continue the experience of the last six years, then vote for the candidate who sounds most like Obama.
