As President Barack Obama began his first term in 2009, he was stuck with some of the worst circumstances any new president has seen. America was in the beginnings of its Great Recession, marked by high unemployment, a collapsing housing market and a soaring deficit. But despite the dismal economy, presidential approval ratings remained around 60 percent until well into 2009.

Today, America’s economy is more than on the rebound; it has recovered from a recession and is growing beyond expectations. But Obama’s approval ratings continue to decline as the economy expands. Currently, Real Clear Politics pegs his economic approval rating at only 41.4 percent. Americans need to realize that our country has come a long way from its recession days and that Obama has been the one to lead us this far.

The recession was marked by high unemployment, peaking at 10 percent five years ago according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But now, the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.8 percent, which is within the normal range of 5–6 percent unemployment. This has added up to 10.6 million private sector jobs created over 56 straight months, as reported by the Democratic Policy and Communications Center.

On Nov. 25, the Commerce Department had to revise the third-quarter growth rate from 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent because it had exceeded expectations. But such promising economic expansion this quarter isn’t just a fluke; it indicates 65 months of economic expansion and 17 of manufacturing expansion, according to the Institute for Supply and Management.

Numbers also show that the deficit has fallen at the fastest rate in 60 years. The Congressional Budget Office’s annual report showed that this year, the deficit was cut by almost one-third. All of these facts build to one conclusion: America’s economy is back on track.

In an Oct. 22 CNN article, economist Richard Curtin argued that the economy “is taking so long to recover.” But according to a Sept. 5 Forbes article, Obama actually achieved a 6.1percent unemployment rate a year faster than Ronald Reagan did during his presidency. And seeing as the American economy is rebounding from its biggest downturn since the Great Depression, it is to be expected that recovery would take some time.

The CNN article also states that despite job growth, wages and income have stayed the same. This may be true, but it is far from the president’s fault. Obama has famously advocated for a higher minimum wage both through government action and individual business decisions. His ideas have failed to take hold in Congress, but businesses can still raise wages on their own.

Lingering uneasiness may also be a cause of low approval ratings. A Public Religion Research Institute survey showed that 72 percent of Americans still think we are in a recession. This number is unreasonably high considering that the facts obviously show otherwise. Politicians must work to restore confidence to the American people so they can benefit from the economy’s success.

When it comes to the economy, there is always room for improvement. Unemployment has yet to achieve average pre-recession lows, and our deficit and debt are still massive. But considering that we came from one of America’s biggest economic downturns, achieving today’s economy is a big deal. Obama deserves recognition for leading our country in such a positive way instead of the disapproval he currently faces.

Kathryn Krawczyk is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at kjkrawczyk@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @KathrynKrawczyk.

Published on December 4, 2014 at 12:01 am