Obama's Economic Policies Have Been Successful

First I ask my opponent to cut some of his arguments because I don't have enough space to refute all of them - therefore, I ask that he elaborate on the most important ones. Economy Since my opponent provides more in depth arguments to all the latter things mentioned, I will simply attack the premise that Obama inherited the worst economy since Bush. "The economy was near the trough of the recession, and would likely have rebounded quickly, had Obama not intervened with radical new policies such as Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. "[1]In fact, if we examine Bush a little closer, "In 2005, President Bush tried to push legislation through Congress to place regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. Bush knew that these organizations' policies involving the lending of mortgage money to those that couldn't afford it were going to cripple the economy if not regulated. "[2] However, it was the Democrats who actually shot this down. Auto Industry Bailout The auto industry bailout did little to save jobs and is a pain on the national budget. "Both GM and Chrysler were headed for bankruptcy. If they had gone bankrupt under chapter 11, most of their factories would have stayed open and they would have continued making and selling cars. Bankruptcy would have allowed the companies to avoid interest and dividend payments for a time, and to renegotiate union contracts. "[3]And what are we left with? : "According to The Detroit News, 'The Treasury Department says in a new report the government expects to lose more than $25 billion on the $85 billion auto bailout. "[4] Debt. Tax Relief for Middle-Class Families and Small Businesses The claim that Obama lowered taes for the middle class is just political bogus. "CBO estimates that health insurance will cost $15,000 per year on average for families soon after Obamacare is fully implemented, rising rapidly from there. That is the individual mandate tax on the middle class and working people. "[5]What about those "18 tax cuts"? : "In fact, if you look at Obama's list, you quickly realize that all but four have either expired or will soon expire, aren't cuts at all, or are double-counted. And the rest are pretty much worthless. "[6]In fact, let's look at Obama's fully proposed (some have been implemented, some haven't yet) versus the previous tax rates: [7]Clearly, Obama hasn't actually lowered taxes. Also, I covered the health insurance debacle above. Job Growth (Up-to-Today)I explained a lot of this in my original argument entitled, "Jobs" but I will go further here. First of all, America has not been experiencing 30 consecutive months of job growth. There have been many months in Obama's presidency (including in 2012) where the unemployment rate rose. And the "5.2 million" number only takes into account one, after the peak, and two, the U-3 unemployment rate: "Specifically, at the depth of the most recent recession in February 2010. .. [to]twenty-nine months later, the economy made a 4.54 million job gain. .. . But the economy also supported 110.98 million jobs when Obama was inaugurated. So, since he was sworn into office, the economy has only gained 330,000 private sector jobs. "[10] If we look at some more accurate measurements of job growth, Obama's performance has been dismal. First, take a look at the labor force participation rate:"Another particularly troubling component of the current recession has been the rapid decline in labor force participation. From the start of the most recent recession to May of 2011, the labor force participation rate has declined by a record 2.0 percentage points, from 66.2 to 64.2 percent. In previous post-WWII recessions, the labor force participation rate rose an average of 0.1 percentage point over that same time period. "[8]Here is a graph showing the labor force participation rate for the last ten years: [9] So actually, the rate has dropped an additional .4%. And, when we analyze the chart, the whole drop was caused by Obama. The start of the drop was at the beginning of the recession when people were being forced into unemployment. Continue on, even today, the labor force participation rate is continuing to drop, this time because of voluntary unemployment. Now, I pointed this out in the last round, but I will reexamine it here, the other presidents' performance versus Obama. I will highlight the Reagan versus Obama recovery: [10]Now like I said last round, the severity of these two recession was about the same (only 2 percentage points higher for the most recent one), so job performances should be about equal. So, Obama hasn't really created many jobs and his economic scorecard here is atrocious. Reasons Behind the So-Called "Mediocre" Record of Recovery" ". .. total employment is now 5.0 percent below what it was at the start of the recession, 38 months ago. This compares to an average rise in employment of 3.7 percent over the same period in prior post-WWII recessions. "[8] Obama isn't just producing a mediocre recovery - he is producing the worst post-WWII recovery in American history. Here is a graph to show Obama's "Mediocre" performance: [8]So, Obama is creating horrible performance. First, my opponent claims a worse recession, but I have already refuted this in this and the last round. Then, my opponent claims that high gas prices aren't helping, but if they're caused by Obama, then why can't he be blamed? It's his fault. Then finally, my opponent credits the European debt crisis; however, we can't be feeling that many of the effects. Job Growth (In the Future) "According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, even if job creation were happening at pre-recession levels, it would take us 11 years to get back to an unemployment rate of 5 percent. "[11] This was made in 2011, meaning that in 2022, we will get to the normal levels, say, around the Bush recession. Does that sound like improvement? Also, it should already be near that point anyway (12 million). Energy Policy While it may be true that there is more drilling going on under Obama, it is false to assume that is a result of his regulatory policies. In fact, the drilling was not a result of his policies, but has flourished despite his policies. Most of this drilling was left over from the Clinton and Bush Era. This is in no way an accomplishment of Obama. [12]Then, without getting into a green energy debate, my opponent's cliams on renewable energy are opinionated conclusions that green energy is good. My opponent at least needs to prove that all that is good. EducationSince my opponent doesn't really make a convincing argument here and I am running out of space, I will ask for my opponent to elaborate. Sources: [1]: . http://www.breitbart.com...[2]: . http://articles.baltimoresun.com...[3]: . http://www.policymic.com...[4]: . http://news.yahoo.com...[5]: . http://www.forbes.com...[6]: . http://news.investors.com...[7]: . http://taxprof.typepad.com...[8]: . http://www.investorsinsight.com...[9]: . http://open.salon.com...[10]: . http://washingtonexaminer.com...[11]: . http://www.propublica.org...[12]: . http://www.foxnews.com...;