Obama gives gift of solid economy to Trump

President Barack Obama inherited a shattered economy when he came into office that stemmed from the bursting of a housing bubble that led to a financial-sector meltdown.

When the president took over in 2009, the country was in the midst of a deep financial crisis and recession with unemployment near 10 percent.

Eight years later, Obama is giving a gift of a solid economy to President-elect Donald Trump.

Despite problems of slow growth and an uneven recovery, there has been an economic turnaround under Obama.

Unemployment has fallen dramatically to just 4.6 percent, a nine-year low.

When Obama became president, nearly 800,000 Americans had lost their jobs. Compare that today when America has gained over 11 million new jobs since Obama took office.

"The labor market is in better shape than at any point in the recovery," said Jed Kolko, chief economist at the job site Indeed.

In addition to a better economy, 20 million more Americans now have health insurance coverage. Today, only 8.9 percent of Americans now lack health insurance, a historic low, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Yet, Trump has criticized the Obama economy as terrible. He says unemployment is lower because many Americans gave up searching for jobs. Nearly two-thirds of voters described the economy as "not so good" or poor, according to polling after the November election.

The new economic reality is that, for decades now, job options have been dwindling for workers with only high school diplomas. This trend was occurring before Obama took office. Workers in rural towns in which Trump won big never enjoyed the economic recovery that benefited major cities.

Trump was able to capitalize on these economic trends fueled by globalization and technology to ride to victory in November.

Still, the fact remains that Obama pulled the economy from the brink of collapse.

Trump has promised to improve the economy through eliminating regulations, tax cuts and major spending on infrastructure. He has promised to return manufacturing and mining jobs that most economists believe are lost. He also plans to repeal and replace Obama's signature health care law.

Americans will learn over the next years if Trump's plans are working. What is clear is that he has been left with a solid economy.

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)