Well... Here's "The Change". How do you like it so far?
IT HAS ONLY BEEN 2 YEARS!
Two years ago
January, 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 | $3.79 |
69.6% |
1 |
| Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) | $43.48 | $108 |
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 |