The Economy Under Obama In One Graph

Click on Chart to Enlarge

This Federal Reserve of St. Louis graph details the year-over-year growth rate of the economy -- as measured by the percent of increase/decrease in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- from 1930 through 2014.  The gray horizontal line represents the peak economic growth under President Obama.  Except for dips during the Great Depression and all the other recessions, no other time in the last 85 years has there been economic growth this low.

Simply, government regulations under Obama are killing the economy.  Even when the Great Depression ended (seen on the far left of the chart), the snap back was tremendous.  Then, following the 1936 recession, the snap back was even greater which is why economist's would always say -- until now -- "the deeper the recession the stronger the recovery". 

The heavy-handed lending regulations under Dodd-Frank are stunting business growth. The employer mandate under ObamaCare is forcing higher costs of labor on business and, as a result, making them less likely to give normal wage increases.  The same with the minimum wage increases that have been taking place in 29 states and in a growing number of cities.   Obama's salaried overtime ruling will also force many companies to forgo normal wage increases.  The push towards solar and wind and the elimination of coal-fired power plants is driving electricity prices higher affecting costs for consumer and businesses alike.

The list of regulations is literally endless since this President has decided to "fundamentally change" America.  With growth this slow and so near the "zero" line, it would be quite easy for us to slip into recession again, should the economy start stumble.

References:

Graph: Gross Domestic Product: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?id=A191RP1Q027SBEA,

Red Tape Rising: Obama-Era Regulations: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/03/red-tape-rising-obama-era-regulation-at-the-three-year-mark

Obama's Slams Small Businesses With Excessive Regulations: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/03/24/obamas-slams-small-businesses-with-excessive-regulations

December 2014: Obama Crams Over 1200 New Regulations Just Before The New Year: http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/23/obama-admin-crams-over-1200-new-regulations-just-before-the-new-year/

Fireworks Industry Bemoans Tough Obama Regulations: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/fireworks-obama-regulation/2015/07/04/id/653445/