page_title: Economic policy of the Barack Obama administration
section_title: Economic results summary
hierarchical_section_title: Economic policy of the Barack Obama administration / Economic results summary
caption_attribution_description: English: Several major U.S. economic variables during President Obama's terms in office.
context_page_description: The economic policy of the Barack Obama administration was characterized by moderate tax increases on higher income Americans, designed to fund health care reform, reduce the federal budget deficit, and decrease income inequality. His first term included measures designed to address the Great Recession and Subprime mortgage crisis, which began in 2007. These included a major stimulus package, banking regulation, and comprehensive healthcare reform. As the economy improved and job creation continued during his second term, the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire for the highest income taxpayers and a spending sequester was implemented, to further reduce the deficit back to typical historical levels. The number of persons without health insurance was reduced by 20 million, reaching a record low level as a percent of the population. By the end of his second term, the number of persons with jobs, real median household income, stock market, and real household net worth were all at record levels, while the unemployment rate was well below historical average.
context_section_description: The economic performance during the Obama administration can be measured by analyzing several key variables: Analysis conducted by Bloomberg News in January 2019 found that the Obama economy after two years ranked second among the seven presidents from 1977-2019, based on fourteen metrics of economic activity and financial performance.
caption: Several major U.S. economic variables during the Great Recession and President Obama's terms in office.
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