Progress under Obama?????

VERIFICATION SOURCES AT BOTTOM OF EMAIL

Two years ago today, Barack Obama, AKA Barry Soetoro, was inaugurated as president of the United States . Are you better off today than you were two years ago? Numbers don't lie, and here are the data on the impact he has had on the lives of Americans:


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


Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history. Over 27 times as fast! Metaphorically, speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster . . . it would be doing 1,755 MPH! This is a disaster!

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

The Fix

The Fix
There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg, Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixingAmerica's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes...
Send illegal aliens home.

Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.

If not, please disregard.