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Don't forget that Clinton balanced the budget during a good economy while the current administration even raised the deficit in a good economy without any plan
by maxxxxx 7y ago
Don't forget that Clinton balanced the budget during a good economy while the current administration even raised the deficit in a good economy without any plan for ever reducing it besides a miracle.
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y agoThis is a common talking point, but it was balanced while Republicans had control of the House and Senate.
- vostok 7y agoThe Republicans also had control of the House and Senate for the last two years. That's not the thing that's different this time.
- Someone1234 7y agoThat is also a misleading talking point. Neither Bill Clinton nor the Republicans (who only held both for two years before the balance) can take full credit. As you can see by this graph: http://stats.areppim.com/ressources/usxbudget_1789x2019_572x412.png http://stats.areppim.com/ressources/usxbudget_1789x2019_572x... There was a sharp rise in income around 1994, and at the same time spending flattened (due to lower unemployment/lower safety net costs). The two met in 97, then fell off sharply in 2000. This exactly mirrors the "Dot-com bubble" period start, middle, and end: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble So neither Bill Clinton or the Republicans can really claim credit. This just happened to be a strong period of economic activity that happened to also drive down costs.
- maxxxxx 7y agoI think one thing is clear: In the 90s Congress + President didn't fuck it up whereas current Congress + President decided to increase deficits in good times which will make it very hard to respond to any downturn.