In just two years - Damage Report

Two years ago, Barack Obama 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