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What has Trump actually done?

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iluvatar5150

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As you can see from the chart, in 1985 US oil production began to drop from approx 9000 barrels per day to half that, then after the recession began to go back up again to slightly above the 1985 level in 2015 which it began to drop again (probably due to the Dakota pipeline protests that trump ended as soon as he got into office) towards the end of 2016 it suddenly began to rise again to 13,000. Do you really believe it would have risen to that level had Trump not been in office?
U.S. Crude Oil Production - Historical Chart

And if you drill into that chart, you can see that production turned up just before Trump was elected. Unless he borrowed Barack's Magical Time Machine, he'd have a tough time juicing oil production before he'd taken office.

Regarding the production drop in 2015, no, it had nothing to do with the pipeline protests. As you can see from the chart that you posted, production started to fall in the summer of 2015, whereas the pipeline protests didn't start until the spring of 2016. Additionally, by what mechanism would protests around an unbuilt pipeline cause the rest of the industry to cut production?

The answer is none. There is no mechanism. Do you stop going to work because somebody is picketing a separate, under-construction facility elsewhere in your industry? No, you don't, and neither does the oil industry. The cause of both of these shifts in production output was the change in oil prices, which impacts the profitability of drilling in certain fields. If you bother to research the issue, you'll find that oil prices plummeted in summer 2014, finally bottoming out in Feb 2016, at which point they started rebounding.
Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart


As you can see from the below chart, over the past 50 years unemployment in a healthy economy is usually 4%-6%. After the recession ended it went from a high of 10% back to a healthy 4% when Obama left office. When Trump entered office, it dropped down to 3% something unseen in 50 years.
Compare Today's Unemployment with the Past

What it shows is a steady downward trend from 2009 through 2019. If you look at a chart with more granularity, you can see that there is no shift in the rate of change after Trump took office; it merely continued on the pre-existing trend.
 
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SimplyMe

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I think it should be noticed that even before the Coronavirus hit, it was estimated that the US would add $1.4 trillion to the nation debt in fiscal year 2020 -- basically the amounts Bush and Obama spent annually during the Great Recession. The difference, those amounts were to combat the Great Recession (with revenues down because of the recession) and even started the Tea Party; over the remainder of Obama's term the deficits dropped and were roughly a third of that amount the last few years of his Presidency -- once the economy had improved. Trump's huge deficits occurred during a very strong economy, as Trump supporters put it, "the best economy in history;" and you want to be paying down debt while the economy is strong (when revenues are high). Because of this, with the Coronavirus (lower revenues and increased spending), Trump is on pace to increase the deficit by $3.7 trillion this year -- and that number may increase with another stimulus package.

Trump is currently projected to add over $7.5 trillion to the national debt in his first term -- which is more than what Obama added to the deficit in his first term (about $5.7 based on national debt the day Obama became President).
 
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jgarden

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Regardless of whether you believe the media is biased or unbiased, we only ever see a small portion of what any President has done when we see or read the news. I want to see a source that explains, objectively, what the president has accomplished. What sort of bills he has signed in, what he's been doing behind the scenes, etc.

As I've been looking, all I've found is one-sided accounts of either good things or bad things that Trump has accomplished. I'm actually pretty neutral on Trump, and I just want to be more informed. If you know of a resource like this, please share!

Thank you; and whatever you think of the president, we can all agree that he needs prayers.
Given that this President and his supporters have been on the wrong side of every issue concerning COVID-19 from Day 1 - how much responsibility will Trump, Education Secretary DeVos and the Administration bear for demanding that the schools be reopened in the Fall?

The White House had the original CDC draft withdrawn and reworked so that it now reinforces this President's demands - if things go "south" as they did in Israel, let's get Trump supporters on the record that they are in full support of his decision, or do they only plan on claiming responsibility if things go well!
 
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KCfromNC

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I second that, this is probably the most unbiased, best researched and most complete list.
I'm not sure it is fair to give the guy a green rating for e.g. breaking his promise to cut social security when he tried but was stopped by Congress.
 
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KCfromNC

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...towards the end of 2016 it suddenly began to rise again to 13,000. Do you really believe it would have risen to that level had Trump not been in office?
Donald didn't take office until 2017.

But here, I'll post a chart of oil production. It is zoomed a random amount. I've left the years out. You tell us which part you're giving Donald credit for.

oil_chart.png
 
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Nithavela

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I'm not sure it is fair to give the guy a green rating for e.g. breaking his promise to cut social security when he tried but was stopped by Congress.
In Trump, ineptness becomes a virtue.
 
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Goonie

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Donald didn't take office until 2017.
He's borrowed Obama's time machine, give it time and they'll be claiming he ordered the mission to take out bin Laden.
 
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Nithavela

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You'd think he'd also go back to February and fix that whole "Covid's a hoax" mistake.
The Obama Time machine only works when going into other president's term of office. It's a safety mechanism to prevent a time paradox since the world doesn't enough attack drones for two Obamas.
 
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iluvatar5150

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The Obama Time machine only works when going into other president's term of office. It's a safety mechanism to prevent a time paradox since the world doesn't enough attack drones for two Obamas.

I just finished the third season of Dark, which, if you’re not aware, is about multiple intersecting timelines that get progressively more confusing as more people get their hands on time machines and try to change the past.

Lots of characters lie, manipulate, betray each other, act vindictively, cover up criminality, cheat on their partners, and/or have children out of wedlock. Many of the female characters are attractive and sexually liberated. Many actors wear heavy makeup to make it appear as if their age is substantially different than what it is. Science controls things but nobody understands it and many people doubt it. The main story arc revolves around people trying to prevent the coming apocalypse. The more you watch, the more your brain hurts trying to comprehend what you’re witnessing. So yeah, it’s like watching Trump if Trump spoke German.
 
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jayem

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I think it should be noticed that even before the Coronavirus hit, it was estimated that the US would add $1.4 trillion to the nation debt in fiscal year 2020 -- basically the amounts Bush and Obama spent annually during the Great Recession. The difference, those amounts were to combat the Great Recession (with revenues down because of the recession) and even started the Tea Party; over the remainder of Obama's term the deficits dropped and were roughly a third of that amount the last few years of his Presidency -- once the economy had improved. Trump's huge deficits occurred during a very strong economy, as Trump supporters put it, "the best economy in history;" and you want to be paying down debt while the economy is strong (when revenues are high). Because of this, with the Coronavirus (lower revenues and increased spending), Trump is on pace to increase the deficit by $3.7 trillion this year -- and that number may increase with another stimulus package.

Trump is currently projected to add over $7.5 trillion to the national debt in his first term -- which is more than what Obama added to the deficit in his first term (about $5.7 based on national debt the day Obama became President).

Exactly. A more telling metric than the dollar amount of the debt is the debt/GDP ratio. This year, the national debt is projected to exceed 100% of GDP for the first time since WW2. This is important because servicing such a massive debt burden will almost certainly require higher interest rates. Which makes expanding the GDP more difficult—even if an effective Covid-19 vaccine becomes available and the pandemic is a much lesser drag on the economy.

Federal debt to exceed GDP for first time since World War II: watchdog

I remember Pres. Obama being excoriated by conservatives when the debt clock hit $14 trillion late in his 2nd term. After only 3 1/2 years years of Donald Trump, it’s now over $19 trillion, and will exceed $20 trillion by year’s end. If a liberal Democrat was President, and acting as Trump has, our right-wing friends would be out of their minds with rage.
 
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Nithavela

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I just finished the third season of Dark, which, if you’re not aware, is about multiple intersecting timelines that get progressively more confusing as more people get their hands on time machines and try to change the past.

Lots of characters lie, manipulate, betray each other, act vindictively, cover up criminality, cheat on their partners, and/or have children out of wedlock. Many of the female characters are attractive and sexually liberated. Many actors wear heavy makeup to make it appear as if their age is substantially different than what it is. Science controls things but nobody understands it and many people doubt it. The main story arc revolves around people trying to prevent the coming apocalypse. The more you watch, the more your brain hurts trying to comprehend what you’re witnessing. So yeah, it’s like watching Trump if Trump spoke German.
Time travel stories always suck at the end.
 
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cow451

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A few hundred feet of new wall, abortions are still legal, Obamacare is still around, the Right is being United, previously hidden racism is full out in the open, changed the wording of NAFTA, good stuff.
I heard some of the wall got blown over by a hurricane.
 
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cow451

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Ken-1122

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And if you drill into that chart, you can see that production turned up just before Trump was elected. Unless he borrowed Barack's Magical Time Machine, he'd have a tough time juicing oil production before he'd taken office.

Regarding the production drop in 2015, no, it had nothing to do with the pipeline protests. As you can see from the chart that you posted, production started to fall in the summer of 2015, whereas the pipeline protests didn't start until the spring of 2016. Additionally, by what mechanism would protests around an unbuilt pipeline cause the rest of the industry to cut production?

The answer is none. There is no mechanism. Do you stop going to work because somebody is picketing a separate, under-construction facility elsewhere in your industry? No, you don't, and neither does the oil industry. The cause of both of these shifts in production output was the change in oil prices, which impacts the profitability of drilling in certain fields. If you bother to research the issue, you'll find that oil prices plummeted in summer 2014, finally bottoming out in Feb 2016, at which point they started rebounding.
Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart
The fact that the protesting was squashed and the pipeline was allowed to be built is probably the reason production eventually went to an all time high of 13,000 per day. If Obama/Hillary policies remained intact, I doubt the pipeline would have been built, regulations would have been slashed, and we would have reached 13,000 per day. There is no way of really telling, this is just a speculation on my part, but I think the regulation cuts (something that wouldn’t have taken place had Trump not been in office) had a lot to do with it.
What it shows is a steady downward trend from 2009 through 2019. If you look at a chart with more granularity, you can see that there is no shift in the rate of change after Trump took office; it merely continued on the pre-existing trend.
From 2009 through 2016 we went from a recession high to one of the many lows we experienced time and time again approx 4%. It didn’t drop to 3% till Tump got into office and enacted his version of trickle down economics.
 
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Ken-1122

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Donald didn't take office until 2017.

But here, I'll post a chart of oil production. It is zoomed a random amount. I've left the years out. You tell us which part you're giving Donald credit for.

View attachment 281674
When we go from approx 8,500 barrels per day to 13,000 barrels per day
 
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iluvatar5150

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The fact that the protesting was squashed and the pipeline was allowed to be built is probably the reason production eventually went to an all time high of 13,000 per day. If Obama/Hillary policies remained intact, I doubt the pipeline would have been built, regulations would have been slashed, and we would have reached 13,000 per day. There is no way of really telling, this is just a speculation on my part, but I think the regulation cuts (something that wouldn’t have taken place had Trump not been in office) had a lot to do with it.

From 2009 through 2016 we went from a recession high to one of the many lows we experienced time and time again approx 4%. It didn’t drop to 3% till Tump got into office and enacted his version of trickle down economics.

When we go from approx 8,500 barrels per day to 13,000 barrels per day

It’s a little hard to take your speculations seriously when you make basic errors like this. The units on that chart were thousands of barrels per day, so when it reads “13,000”, it means 13 million. US crude oil production peaked out at around 13 million barrels per day.

Do you know what the capacity of the Dakota Access Pipeline is? It’s 470,000 barrels a day.
Dakota Access Pipeline - Wikipedia

That’s 0.36% of the US total output. And what the pipeline ships isn’t all new production- some of that output had previously been shipped by rail. So no, increased transport capacity of <=0.36% was not enough to catapult us to the top of the charts.
 
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