Obama's Biggest Accomplishment (In A Picture)

[berni_mccoy]

This image was taken from the jobs post at Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/5/834022/-Still-No-Positive-Uptick-in-Jobs.-U6-drops-to-16.5 (and I modified it to mark where Obama became President).

The take-away: Obama stopped one of the fastest job losses in history and changed the direction on where the economy was going. If he had not acted within his first month to create the stimulus bill, the place we'd ended up today would be very dark indeed.

Obama knows the work is not done and he's going to push Congress to produce a Jobs bill that will turn that trend line upward.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. You're talking about the inflection point?

[berni_mccoy]

2. I'm talking about how the Stimulus bill prevented an even worse Unemployment situation.

The graph clearly shows that.

[FrenchieCat]

7. This graph might help!

[berni_mccoy]

9. Thanks Frenchie!

[NYC_SKP]

12. Ah, one of the "bikini graphs"! Saw it on Maddow, K.O., some show...

http://livingimperfectly.blogspot.com/2010/01/bikini-graph.html

[EOTE]

3. I don't understand what this graph is supposed to show.

It seems to me that the red line is the one to look at in this graph. And it doesn't seem to do much better when Obama takes over. Perhaps I'm reading this wrong. Am I missing something?

[berni_mccoy]

4. Seriously? The rate of descent slows dramatically, almost to a flat line

While under Bush, it was a near vertical drop.

[EOTE]

6. But that line, by its very nature, could not have continued on that path for long.

It was bound to slow down and it's a bit deceptive in that it doesn't even suggest that things are getting better, just that they're not getting (much) worse. Until that line begins to trend upward, I don't see what's worth praising so much. Yes, I believe things would be worse under bush, but I really don't see any reason to celebrate from that graph.

[berni_mccoy]

8. I don't think so. We could have been seeing numbers in the 15-20% range for unemployment

if nothing had been done.

[EOTE]

10. I'm pretty sure our actual numbers ARE closer to 15%+.

And once again, I'm quite sure that things would have been worse under Bush. I just really don't see much in that graph that's worth celebrating. Unemployment now is still very high.

[thereismore]

5. Bad graphics. I don't see how Obama was president during all these recessions. nt

[RedCappedBandit]

13. nvmd

[Marr]

11. *edit*