Growing from the Middle Out: The U.S. Economy in Obama’s Second Term

By Heather Boushey | December 12, 2012

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The US economy has made a remarkable turnaround since 2008, moving from losing 800,000 jobs per month in the winter of 2009, to adding over 150,000 jobs per month over a two-year period. This shift from massive job losses to steady job gains occurred because of the decisive actions of policymakers who implemented a combination of monetary and fiscal policies in 2008 and 2009.

But while the economy has been in recovery since June 2009, the level of output continues to be significantly below potential, and as a result unemployment, especially long-term unemployment, remains unacceptably high. In his campaign, Obama made the case that the economy “grows from the middle out”. Now, as president, he gets to work with Congress anew to realise that vision.

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This article was originally published in The New Statesman.