Fellow Kossacks, I need your help.
About two weeks ago, I came across a rebuttal argument to the article floating around the internet (see it cut and paste below...or link here).
But I can't find that rebuttal. I believe I read it on one of the liberal oriented sites I frequent (DK, TPM, C&L, Salon, ThinkProgress, etc), but I can neither find it by searching those sites nor searching Google. It doesn't help that I can't remember where I read it. My hope is that one of you intrepid readers can help point me to that article (because you also read it AND remember where you saw it!), help me find it by scouring the internet, or present your rebuttal points below. My searching has allowed me to find this "18 Statistics" article in many many places. And the comments, as predictable as they may be, are telling. Folks hold the president accountable for much of this stuff.
Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.
18 Statistics That Prove That The Economy Has Not Improved Since Barack Obama Became President
Has the economy improved since Barack Obama became the president of the United States? Of course not. Despite what you may be hearing in the mainstream media, the truth is that when you compare the U.S. economy on the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated to the U.S. economy today, there is really no comparison. The unemployment crisis is worse than it was then, home values have fallen, the cost of health insurance is up, the cost of gas is way up, the number of Americans living in poverty has soared and the size of our national debt has absolutely exploded. Anyone that believes that things are better than they were when Barack Obama was elected is simply being delusional. Yes, things have stabilized somewhat and our economy is not in free fall mode at this point. But don't be fooled. This bubble of false hope will be short-lived. The problems we are seeing develop in Europe will erupt into another full-fledged global financial crisis and economic conditions in the United States will get even worse. When that happens, what possible " economic solutions" will Barack Obama have for us? We never even came close to recovering from the last great financial crisis, and now something potentially even worse is staring us in the face. This is not a great time to have a total lack of leadership in Washington.
The following are 18 statistics that prove that the economy has not improved since Barack Obama became the president of the United States....
#1 Today there are 88 million working age Americans that are not employed and that are not looking for employment. That is an all-time record high.
#2 When Barack Obama was elected, the percentage of unemployed Americans that had been out of work for more than 52 weeks was less than 15%. Today, it is above 30%.
#3 There are 1.2 million fewer jobs in America today than there were when Barack Obama was inaugurated.
#4 When Barack Obama first took office, the number of "long-term unemployed workers" in the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6 million.
#5 The average duration of unemployment in the United States is hovering close to an all-time record high.
#6 During the Obama administration, worker health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent.
#7 Since Barack Obama has been president, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has increased by 90 percent.
#8 Since Barack Obama has been president, home values in the United States have declined by another 13 percent.
#9 Under Barack Obama, new home sales in the U.S. set a brand new all-time record low in 2009, they set a brand new all-time record low again in 2010, and they set a brand new all-time record low once again during 2011.
#10 Since Barack Obama took office, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by more than 6 million.
#11 Since Barack Obama entered the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased from 32 million to 46 million.
#12 The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.
#13 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans living in "extreme poverty" is now sitting at an all-time high.
#14 When Barack Obama first took office, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today an ounce of gold costs more than $1700 an ounce.
#15 Since Barack Obama became president, the size of the U.S. national debt has increased by 44 percent.
#16 During Barack Obama's first two years in office, the U.S. government added more to the U.S. national debt than the first 100 U.S. Congresses combined.
#17 During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.
#18 The U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.
Oh, but Barack Obama is promising that things will be much better very soon. Barack Obama is pledging that 2 million more jobs will be added to the economy in 2012.
Do you believe him?
There is more, but that's the heart of it.
6:36 PM PT: In the comments, two people questioned if I am merely trying to get this stuff published here, as if I'm a troll.
No. I am not. I didn't need to cut and paste the article. I warned you in the intro that I cut and paste it below (and provided a link). This article is all over the place. For the average DK reader, I'm surprised that people haven't seen it (which is why I put in the poll...to discover its reach).
What I am after is clear and eloquent rebuttal to people who continue to put this on Facebook. It's so easy to see/read this and get riled up. I want the counter. And I just can't seem to find it! ~Ken