With Barack Obama’s first term coming to a close, many Americans are wondering what he has accomplished. This article will evaluate President Obama’s accomplishments and failures based upon the conditions under which he took office.
“Obamacare”. Barack Obama signed the historic Health Care Reform Act, an objective that has been sought by most presidents since WWII, to provide universal health care by making 44 million current free-riders pay into the system. It allows states to develop their own policies in accordance with federal standards, and it prevents insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Parts of the Health Care Reform bill include, allowing children to remain covered by their parents' insurance until the age of 26, tax cuts for up to 3.5 million small businesses to help pay for employee health care coverage, and tax credits for up to 29 million individuals to help pay for health insurance. Moreover, health insurance plans are now required to disclose how much of the premium actually goes to patient care. Other healthcare initiatives include the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act (provides health care to 11 million kids, 4 million of whom were previously uninsured), cutting prescription drug cost for Medicare recipients by 50%, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (allocates $12.2 Billion in new funding), and the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (gives the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco for the first time).
The Economy. Obama inherited the worst economy (as defined by negative economic growth) since the Great Depression. The 2.6 million US job losses in 2008 were second only to the losses in 1945 when the US switched from a wartime economy, and the under-employment was at a record high. He managed to prevent the United States economy from lapsing into a second Depression. He did this by pushing the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 which invested $789 billion in the American economy. He continued George Bush’s bank bailout (which has been repaid with $20 billion profit) and rescued the American auto industry (at an estimated $14 billion cost). He also launched recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, providing transparency and allowing the public to report fraud, waste, or abuse. Obama ensured that a housing collapse would not be as likely in the future by passing financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status. In 2010, the benefits of these policies started to become apparent. The jobs created that year in the private sector, exceeded what was created under George W. Bush in his eight years as president. This growth continued in 2011 with 1.9 million new private sector jobs while governments lost over 250,000 jobs. Despite this increase in government spending, Obama managed to halt the rapid increase in the national debt. Obama policies increased the debt by $1.4 trillion, as opposed to Bush policies that increased the debt by $7 trillion.
Financial Reform. Against significant Wall Street and GOP opposition, Obama signed financial reform laws that benefit the average American and address some of the causes of our recent economic meltdown. The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau polices the financial world and looks out for the interests of everyday Americans. Obama signed a “Credit Card Bill of Rights” that prevents credit card companies from imposing arbitrary rate increases on customers. The financial reform law prohibits banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests). For wealthier Americans, financial reform allows shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on executive pay.
Foreign Policy. Obama has refocused America’s foreign policy on its national interests by not acting unilaterally and by pursuing long-term objectives. US troops are leaving Iraq this year and Afghanistan by the end of 2013. For the first time in the past two decades, Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to this nation, and the leaders of his terrorist organization have been methodically and effectively removed. Obama has walked a fine-line of avoiding increased US entanglements in the Middle East during the “Arab Spring” (e.g., he cooperated with our allies to overthrew Libya’s dictator, Gadhafi, without suffering any US casualties) and has gradually increased pressure on Iran because of their nuclear ambitions. These accomplishments stand in stark contrast to his predecessor’s “shoot from the hip” unilateral policies. Earlier in his term, he signed New START Treaty, a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia. He has signed three free-trade pacts; yet, he has been more aggressive in challenging unfair trade practices. Lastly, Obama issued an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay.
American Society. While working on Health Care and the Economy, Obama managed to find time to work on other issues that contribute to increasing equality and making the US a more civil society. He appointed two women to the Supreme Court, one being the first Hispanic-American to serve. He extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. He implemented the repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” so that gay Americans may openly serve in our country’s armed forces, and no longer defends the “Defense of Marriage Act” and its mandated discrimination against some marriages. Lastly, he has focused concern on the environment after years of neglect (e.g., the significant decrease in greenhouse gases arising from the increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016.)
Remaining Challenges. The United States continues to confront significant challenges. The economy is still depressed. There has been no aggregate US job growth since 2001. Long-term unemployment remains at Great Depression levels. Nearly 15% of Americans live below the poverty line. Although he has proposed to increase the tax rates of those earning over $1 million/year to be on par with middle class Americans and savings from Medicare and Medicaid, Republicans in Congress have not cooperated with him. Obama signed an order closing Guantanamo Bay prison, yet 171 prisoners still remain there. His potential second term will need to address these remaining promises. Lastly, Obama has still continued the Patriot Act from the Bush Administration despite the fact that its constitutionality has been challenged.
Obama’s critics complain that he is not accomplished; yet, based off of the facts listed above, he appears to be an accomplished and historic president. If he does win re-election, it is safe to expect more monumental change because as a lame duck he can champion unpopular initiatives because he cannot run for president again.
