Top 10 Barack Obama Accomplishments

In the wake of the US Presidential Election on November 8 this year and the end of Obama’s 8 years in office, we are taking a look at the Top 10 Barack Obama Accomplishments…

“Change we can believe in.”

This was Barack Obama‘s slogan when he first ran for becoming a President of The USA back in 2008. When he won the elections, he truly needed the country to come together to make that much-needed positive change. The great depression was his first challenge of many. He needed to fix the struggling economy, overseas involvement, and an intense distrust from Americans in their country’s future.

He also needed to fight the controversy over his ambitious Affordable Care Act or the infamous Obamacare. Despite the many challenges Obama faced, he managed to overpass most of them and accomplish great things, which will make him be remembered as one of America’s greatest presidents. He also managed to be re-elected for a second presidency, stay away from any private affairs and win a Nobel Prize in 2009.

1. Obamacare

via ivn.us

The infamous Obamacare or The Affordable Care Act is probably President Obama’s greatest accomplishment. His goal was affordable health insurance for millions without coverage. By 2014, the Affordable Care Act dropped the number of uninsured Americans by 22.3%, which amounts to more than 10.3 million people with insurance who didn’t have it before. It has also increased the life expectancy of Medicare greatly. Thanks to Obamacare, health care inflation is at its lowest level since 1960. President Obama has also implemented the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2015-2020. The strategy is a follow-up to the first such strategy in US history, which he implemented in 2010.

2. Climate Change

via boell.de

Although he didn’t start any regulations on climate change in his early days as the President of the USA, Obama moved aggressively with new regulations on auto efficiency and power plant emissions. His most important move was the historic agreement signed in Paris, which commits every nation on earth to a common effort to reduce carbon emissions.

3. The Great Recession

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One of Obama’s first challenges was seeing the country through the great recession. His first move was passing a large stimulus bill to mitigate the effects of the recession. Obama signed the Recovery Act, which cut taxes and saved millions of jobs. According to the president, businesses have “added 13.7 million new jobs over a 69-month streak of job growth.” Today under Obama’s policies, unemployment stands at 5 percent, proving a good economy.

4. Iraq and Afghanistan

via dinarspeculator.com

During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to remove American troops and end George W. Bush’s catastrophic war. When he became the president of the USA, he followed his promise. On May 1, 2011, Navy Seals attacked the al Quaeda leader’s compound in Pakistan and eliminated Osama bin Laden. This was the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, renewed threats from ISIS meant renewed military presence. In 2014 he wound down the war in Afghanistan. He has also increased care and benefits for veterans.

5. Nuclear Agreement with Iran

via truthrevolt.org

On July 14, 2015, the United States, together with eight other nations, signed a historic nuclear peace agreement with Iran. The deal managed to survive a vote in congress, despite Republican objection. In return, the United Nations has lifted the economic sanctions it imposed in 2010.

6. Same-Sex Marriage – For some, one of the Greatest Barack Obama Accomplishments

via raymondpronk.wordpress.com

“Love won,” said President Obama just moments after the Supreme Court’s landmark 5-4 decision that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. He commended and supported the Supreme Court ruling saying:  “No matter who you are, here in America, you’re free to marry the person you love because the freedom to marry is now the law in all 50 states.” Obama has also managed to end discrimination against gays in the military.

7. Cuba Relations

via vosizneias.com

In August this year, the American flag has flown in Havana for the first time in 54 years! This was just the first step to the normalization of the Cuba-USA relations. The USA embassy in Cuba reopened, and the USA administration has taken steps to make it easier to travel to and do business in Cuba.

8. Auto Industry

via cleveland.com

After the financial crisis, the USA auto industry needed a restart desperately. Obama helped stimulate the auto industry by providing it the temporary support it needed to grow and prosper. This resulted in Chrysler and GM creating 250,000 new jobs instead of millions of jobs being lost as predicted at the beginning of the crisis. The industry is once again leading the world thanks to President Obama.

9. Trans-Pacific Partnership

via jacobinmag.com

President Obama called the Trans-Pacific Partnership the “strongest, most pro-worker, pro-environment trade agreement in our history.” The deal signed in October involved 12 Pacific Rim countries, with provisions to cut trade barriers, protect labor and environmental interests and ensure intellectual property rights.

10. 2010 Tax Cuts

via npr.org

With the $858 billion tax cut from December 2010, businesses received $140 billion in tax cuts for capital improvements and $80 billion in research and development tax credits. It cut payroll taxes by 2%, adding $120 million to workers’ spendable income. There also were additional credits for college tuition and children.