Dems, here's your chance?

Question

You all seem to think Bill Clinton, and the thing he calls wife, are the greatest things since sliced bread, or at least better than anything a conservative has to offer. I ask you then, what 3 policies Bill Clinton initiated, pushed for, signed into law, that improved the economy?

I contend that the economy boomed in the 90's due to Reagan's policies and that by the end of the Clinton adinistration the economy was headed towards the toilet.

So here is your chance to at least give evidence to try to prove me wrong. List exactly what slick willy did that had a positive impact on our economy and please, explain how that action worked.

Do you need help? I'll give you one, he kept Allen Greenspan as chairman of the Fed. Guess he must have felt conservative appointments were good for something

Still, the only thinng offered to support economic strength under Clinton has come from me. There is another, but none have yet named it, they only try to bury it behind Bush bashing. Bush's tax cuts staved off a depression, even with the economic upheaval of 9/11.

Herb,

True enough. I have little to rave about as far as the GW Bush Presidency is concerned. Only that it is/was better than an Al Gore Presidency would have been, and most certainly better than a John Kerry Presidency. I am from Massachusetts, no one knows better than I what a waste of good air he is.

To whomever, you think I insulted a US Senator, I think it is an insult that she IS a Senator, and the same for Ted Kennedy. Their may well be Republicans who do not desrve office for their misdeeds, and I would agree they do not deserve office either.

Sageandschola, kudos, NAFTA was the other policy that Bill stumped for.

For the rest, I think you are correct, the overall impact that a President has on the economy WHILE IN OFFICE is limited.

Now, the question is, other than the "tax cut for the rich" (meaning me at 50K per year) what would have Al Gore or John kerry done to keep this economy moving, and to keep us free of further terrorist attacks.

While I cannot give my points yet, and I don't quite agree absolutely with the responder, he already has my kudos, and will get the points when i can give them. Reasons: He did actually have one of the Clinon policies that promoted the economy that I had not provided. He was the ONLY one. Sorry to the conservatives, this question offered you nothing, but you are all use to reality.

Answer 1

Even though your first sentence demonstrates the sort of person you are I will give you 3

1.NAFTA and expansion of WTO
2.Balance budget preventing upward interest rate pressures that allowed for investment (that in turn contributed to the stock market increases which Republicans claim Clinton had not part in) and also encouraged the Fed to reconsider thier full employment goal, reducing it from 6% to 4%.
3.Economic equality. While too slow for many Liberals Clinton towards the end of his term was able to reverse the trend of America's poorer elements being left out of the economic success. After poverty and inequality grew each year of the Reagan Bush1 era by the end of Clinton's reign they were both falling. This is a trend that has since discontinued as poverty continues to grow again.

There are plenty more if (as I am sure you will) you don't like these three (such as the 1993 tax cuts to small business and the poor),

Answer 2

Why are you still obsessed with Bill Clinton 7 years after he left office?

Is it because you really can't find anything positive about the current President?

Listening to this broken record over and over again, Clinton rode the coattails of Reagan (never mind that George HW Bush was President in between who raised taxes and shut down military bases)

Then when the economy boomed during the Clinton years it was because of the Republican led Congress.

Then when it took a downturn, it became Clinton's fault.

And if the economy is supposedly doing well it's because of Bush.

If it takes another downturn it's the fault of the Democrat controlled Congress.

So let's break it down, if the economy is booming it will always be the work of the Republicans.

If the economy is falling, it will always be the work of the Democrats.

That's pretty much the spin isn't it?

Answer 3

Presidents have little control over the economy. They can make it worse, but it's going to largely do what it's going to do.

You contend a lie about Reagan's economic policies. He bankrupted the nation. His deregulation invoked more criminal proceedings than I can even count. If fraud is how you run an economy, then Reagan was incredible.

Clinton presided over an economic boom. His policies didn't really hurt it much. Bush Sr. had a horrible economy and THAT he inherited from his former boss. You can pick and choose different things that might have made it go south, but you have to see a lot more than the simple propaganda you're putting out here.

Conservatives still believe that trickle-down economics works. Well it works for the rich, who are already rich. Your opportunity as someone who is not rich is less available under a conservative than a liberal.

Sorry, I'll take the liberal any time. At least I know that they will invite a lot of assistance into the economy and insure that regulation keeps an even playing field and helps out those who don't have huge trucks of cash following them around everywhere.

Answer 4

i'm neither party, yet i'm hoping republicans can fix their blunders additionally. so a techniques as getting your taxes extra beneficial, you do not could be concerned except you're wealthy - they simply choose to repeal the president's cuts for the wealthy. additionally, there have been many democratic presidents and our protection rigidity hasn't diminished. So do not difficulty. If the dems extremely screw up, individuals are sensible adequate to opposite the final public in 2008 if mandatory. by using the way, i'm in simple terms thinking what makes some people (not the guy asking the question, however the distinctive answerers) have self assurance dems are the only ones who trash talk, and that they choose to help the terrorists - being against the Iraq conflict isn't comparable to being against the conflict on terror. Do you spot absolutely everyone (the two party) opposing our presence in Afghanistan? Please don't think each and every of the smear campaigns.

Answer 5

This is a Conservative defending him, I thought that might be more effective on you. July 01, 2004
Bruce Bartlett Calls Clinton a Successful Eisenhower Republican

Well, Bruce Bartlett has eaten his wheaties this morning:

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Those Were the Days: Like most conservatives, I thought Bill Clinton was a terrible president when he was in office. Especially after the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994, we all dreamed of the paradise that would be ours if we could just get a Republican in the White House. We could fix the budget and the tax system, rein in the bureaucracy, neuter the trade unions and trial lawyers, and do all those other things that could never be done because Democrats were always blocking the way. It was foolish to think like this, of course....

Conservatives should rethink the Clinton presidency. At least on economic policy, there is much to praise and little to criticize in terms of what was actually done (or not done) on his watch. Bringing the federal budget into surplus is obviously an achievement. After inheriting a deficit of 4.7 percent of gross domestic product in 1992, Mr. Clinton turned this into a surplus of 2.4 percent of G.D.P. in 2000 — a remarkable turnaround that can be appreciated by realizing that this year's deficit, as large as it is, will reach only 4.2 percent of G.D.P., according to the Congressional Budget Office....

More important, from a conservative point of view, Mr. Clinton achieved his surplus in large part by curtailing spending. Federal spending fell to 18.4 percent of G.D.P. in 2000 from 22.2 percent in 1992.... Mr. Clinton was also steadfast in his support for free trade. It is doubtful that anyone else could have persuaded Congress to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement. On monetary policy, he reappointed Alan Greenspan, a Republican....

By contrast, Mr. Clinton's Republican successor has caused the surplus to evaporate, raised total federal spending by 1.6 percent of G.D.P., established a new entitlement program for prescription drugs and adopted the most protectionist trade policy since Herbert Hoover. While President Bush has done other things that conservatives view more favorably, like cutting taxes, there is no getting around the reality that Mr. Clinton was better in many respects...

Answer 6

And of course everything comes to Clinton and his fallacies for all things any time any where for any reasons.

Seem like Clinton is greatest thing that ever happened to GOP.

Rule #1 for GOP debater :
When in jam yell Clinton.
Rule #2: Associate name Clinton with all negative things.
Rule #3: Clinton is evil. Must not spawn another Clinton.

Answer 7

Up and hits a home run, YES.. Man stop acting like the rest of your party's tactics and try something new. I mean the whole what about the other guy has nothing to do with this guy in office now. I mean, we are talking about now, no the the flipping past bud. My children are going to have to pay for this crap hole of a lie war. What part of lie dont you understand or should I quote your great leader again. " I felt his punishment was just to harsh and I removed it". G Bush removed a Scooters Libbies punishment because it was to much, wtf. That man lied to the country and should be shot via a firing squad.

When was the last time your party did anything for this country! Quote me something via email bud. The past is a lesson to learn on, the present is now and its ;lkj up all the hell.

Answer 8

I'll leave others to defend Clinton.

But by your logic -- everything that's happening now is because of the actions that Clinton took -- if everything happening during the 90s was the result of what happened 8~10 years previous.

So, any economic growth in the past 5 years could be credited to Clinton, right?

Answer 9

So then you are saying the supposed current economic boom is due to Clinton's policies.

Answer 10

Okay, I got to the end of your first sentence where you insult a United States senator. All I know is that the country prospered under Clinton, and who knows how much better it would have gotten if it weren't for uptight right wing fundies that actually considered a BJ a bad thing. I think it's all in the nomenclature. We should never have called it that. We should have called it a blow vacation. Now take Bush for example (please). One trillion dollars in debt for a pointless, needless, horrible, ugly war. Do you have children? Guess who's going to have to pay for that trillion dollars poured down the rat hole.