Judging President Obama on His Own Terms

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The Wall Street Journal :

Judging President Obama on His Own Terms

The administration consistently failed to meet its projections for GDP growth.

By

Lawrence B. Lindsey

Updated Oct. 3, 2016 9:25 p.m. ET

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As President Obama’s time in office winds down, the debate over the success of his economic policies has become more pronounced. This might seem difficult to objectively evaluate, given that every president inherits a unique economic situation. But there exists a fair way to judge the president: Compare the results of his policies with forecasts from his own administration.

 

Mr. Obama’s various budgets, which included projections for how the economy would respond to his programs, provide an excellent test. And I will only consider postrecession budgets, so this is not about the Great Recession. Likewise, the president’s defenders cannot blame some hangover from the economy Mr. Obama inherited. His economic team was aware of the past when these projections were made.

 

The first postrecession budget came in February 2010. By then, the three main pillars of the president’s program—the stimulus package, ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank—had either been adopted or were close to enactment. The administration was well aware of them and doubtless included their effects when making its projections.