Around the political spectrum, there has been a near-constant effort to try and quantify the country’s growth and development. Implicit in that effort is a critical question – are we better off now than we were five years ago? In order to answer this question, one must determine which metrics to use in order to figure out whether we are better or not. From an economic perspective, one can look at a few critical numbers, including unemployment rate and GDP growth rate. The stock market is also an indicator, since it provides a view on both consumer confidence and on corporate profits. Economics is not the only thing worth considering, though. There are other ways that the country could have developed during that time, so it is important to take into account qualitative factors. Using these factors and the statistics currently available, it is clear that the United States today is better off than it was five years ago in almost every measure.
Assessing economic growth or progress is not simple because no one metric can truly encapsulate all of the country’s growth – or lack of growth – over the last five years. Five years ago, the country was in the midst of a terrible recession brought on by a near-crash of its real estate and credit markets. The stock market took a huge hit, and people were laid off in massive numbers. With that in mind, one might start by looking at unemployment rates, as this provides a picture of the strength of the nation. In March of 2009, unemployment rates in the United States were 8.7-percent. Those rates were quickly rising, though, and they ended up above nine-percent for much of the year. In fact, unemployment peaked at ten-percent in October of 2009. Businesses were obviously scared of what was to come, and many cut their workers in advance of a difficult economic time. Over the last few years, the growth and recovery has been slow, but the country has made significant progress over that time. In December of 2013, unemployment ticked below seven-percent the first time in five years (Gray, 2013). As it currently stands, unemployment is at 6.7-percent, well below the numbers five years ago. From an employment perspective, it is clear that the country is in much better position now than it was then.
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Unemployment is not the only thing that one must use when looking at the progress of the economy, though. In addition, one might look at GDP growth. The Gross Domestic Product growth rate indicates what the country is producing overall, and according to economists, it is one of the best measures for analyzing the overall strength of the economy. In 2009, the United States actually had negative GDP numbers. Its GDP was reducing by a rate of 2.8-percent during that year. This was mostly because of all of the freezes in hiring, and the markets were getting crushed, as well. The country was trending the wrong direction, and it took a lot to get that turned. As of 2013, GDP growth is heading in the right direction. Growth is at 2.8-percent on the positive end, which means the growth rate has increased by more than five-percent over the last five years (Herndon et al, 2013). While 2.8-percent is not an extremely high or promising rate of GDP growth, if the question simply deals with whether the country is in better shape now than it was five years ago, then one must agree that the country is.
The stock markets are also a good indicator of where America is from a financial perspective, as they give a good picture of the state of corporate America. In 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a low of 6,547 (Mishel & Finio, 2013). Things have certainly gotten better in this regard. The Dow Jones is currently at more than 15,600, and the NASDAQ and S&P 500 are right there with the Dow. Companies are making bigger profits than ever, a sign that the country is better off now than was then.
These factors are objective, but there some subjective factors that also need to be taken into account. The country has made some movement on civil rights issues, with more states passing equality laws and anti-bully laws designed to protect discrete and insular minorities. One area where the country may not be getting better is with its prisons. Prison populations continue to swell, as the US currently incarcerates around two million people, a number that puts the US as the country that incarcerates the largest percentage of its citizens.
Overall, the country has made marked improvements over the last five years. Five years ago, the country was in the midst of a major recession, and its economic indicators were as weak as the country has seen in some time. Unemployment skyrocketed, with around ten-percent of the workforce not being able to find work. GDP growth was negative, and the stock market had been crushed. Things have changed, though, as unemployment is down a few percent, GDP growth has turned around for the positive, and the stock market has re-gained all of its losses plus much more. This has produced a better economic reality in the country, and the country has also take steps to become more equal and egalitarian in nature.
- Gray, V. (2013). The impact of the American recovery and reinvestment act of 2009 on black and latino unemployment.
- Herndon, T., Ash, M., & Pollin, R. (2013). Does high public debt consistently stifle economic growth? A critique of Reinhart and Rogoff. Cambridge Journal of Economics.
- Mishel, L., & Finio, N. (2013). Earnings of the Top 1.0 Percent Rebound Strongly in the Recovery. Economic Policy Institute Issue Brief, 347.
