For all the talk in some circles about how the Dow falls every time President Obama opens his mouth, it’s worth noting on the day President Obama was inaugurated, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 7,949.09. The DJIA closed today at 7975.85, which is just a shade under 30 points higher than when Obama took office. What’s more, the Nasdaq has gone from 1,440.86 on the day of President Obama’s inauguration to 1,606.71 at the close of the markets today. The S&P 500 also ended the day today higher than when President Obama took office: 835.48 to its 805.22 closing on January 20, 2009.
Obviously there’s still a lot of work left to be done to get our economy back on solid footing, but perhaps we’re not headed for another Great Depression – replete with lines for bananas and bread – after all.
Oh, and for a little historical perspective, the S&P 500 dropped almost 200 points (from 1,342.54 to 1,152.69) between the time of George W. Bush’s inauguration on January 20, 2001 and March 26 of that same year. What’s more, the S&P plummeted to 952.77 the day of the 2008 presidential election, a drop of nearly 400 points during George W. Bush’s time in office.
I really do not care who takes the credit for turning around the economy. I can not afford to be partisan about this issue.
However, unsustainable budgets will come due eventually, and will need to be addressed sooner rather than later……hopefully we can agree on that.
Rich, you’re absolutely right that the bill is going to come due for the profligate spending of our government – both in the past and currently – and I can only hope our elected officials can find a way to rein in spending and get our budget back into a surplus.
Controlling spending seems like a pipe dream at the moment.
Any surplus would seem to have to come from a rising tide lifting all boats, but that’s just me.