Jonathan Chait wrote an article today stating that the Paris climate deal is president Obama's biggest accomplishment. Since Chait is an extreme leftist, I almost never agree with what he has to say. Today, however, is different. I, too, think that the Paris climate deal is the biggest accomplishment by Obama during his second term. My reasoning is a bit different from Chait's but it's still refreshing to agree with him for once.
Let's start at the top. During Obama's second term, the economy has limped along with a roughly 2% growth rate. The number of people who have given up looking for work continues to rise as the labor participation rate falls. Youth unemployment rates are extraordinarily high. Worst of all, the median real household income has not risen. Simply put, the vast majority of middle class Americans are getting crushed in the Obama economy. Obamacare has expanded the number of people with health insurance policies, but perversely, has reduced the number of people who can actually see the doctor because that health insurance coverage is expensive and does not cover much except in catastrophes. Further, the insurance companies are pulling out or Obamacare or collapsing as all the costs come home to roost. America's foreign policy is a disaster. We are now subject to terrorist attacks here at home to an extent never before seen. Obama's rapid withdrawal from Iraq and inability to deal with the situation in Syria have created the conditions for ISIS to thrive. Obama made a deal with Iran that gave the Iranians a huge cash influx and ended sanctions on that country while assuring them a path to nuclear weapons. Before the ink had even dried, Iran began violating the deal with missile tests and there has been no response. Russia is ignoring Obama and even the state related media in Moscow calls him a "monkey", the kind of insult that might have been common during the Cold War but which we have not seen for decades. The immigration policy that Obama proclaimed has been stopped by the courts. In short, nothing has gone right for Obama.
The Paris agreement on climate, however, is a good photo op. It has no enforcement mechanism, so it is strictly voluntary. It won't achieve anything with regard to climate change. Simply put, unlike so much else that Obama has done, the Paris agreement will not harm anything or anyone. That makes it Obama's biggest accomplishment.
Let's start at the top. During Obama's second term, the economy has limped along with a roughly 2% growth rate. The number of people who have given up looking for work continues to rise as the labor participation rate falls. Youth unemployment rates are extraordinarily high. Worst of all, the median real household income has not risen. Simply put, the vast majority of middle class Americans are getting crushed in the Obama economy. Obamacare has expanded the number of people with health insurance policies, but perversely, has reduced the number of people who can actually see the doctor because that health insurance coverage is expensive and does not cover much except in catastrophes. Further, the insurance companies are pulling out or Obamacare or collapsing as all the costs come home to roost. America's foreign policy is a disaster. We are now subject to terrorist attacks here at home to an extent never before seen. Obama's rapid withdrawal from Iraq and inability to deal with the situation in Syria have created the conditions for ISIS to thrive. Obama made a deal with Iran that gave the Iranians a huge cash influx and ended sanctions on that country while assuring them a path to nuclear weapons. Before the ink had even dried, Iran began violating the deal with missile tests and there has been no response. Russia is ignoring Obama and even the state related media in Moscow calls him a "monkey", the kind of insult that might have been common during the Cold War but which we have not seen for decades. The immigration policy that Obama proclaimed has been stopped by the courts. In short, nothing has gone right for Obama.
The Paris agreement on climate, however, is a good photo op. It has no enforcement mechanism, so it is strictly voluntary. It won't achieve anything with regard to climate change. Simply put, unlike so much else that Obama has done, the Paris agreement will not harm anything or anyone. That makes it Obama's biggest accomplishment.
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