In 2000, when President Clinton left office, America had experienced years of growth, low unemployment, and strong standing in the international community. In the eight years that followed, President Bush's policies eroded our economic security, damaged our international standing, and led us into a recession that we're still struggling to recover from. Only with the election of President Obama have things begun to improve.
Hover over the points on the timeline below to see some of the key events that occurred over the past decade.
January 2001: President Clinton leaves office with $236 billion budget surplus, generation of 18 million jobs, and GDP of 10.2 trillion, capping off 8 years of GDP growth, with an average growth rate of 3.7%/year and budget surplus projections.
June 2001: President Bush pushes through first of two tax cuts through the reconciliation process, without paying for them. Combined with the 2003 tax cuts, these tax cuts added $1.7 trillion to the federal deficit between 2001 and 2008 and disproportionately benefited the top 1% of Americans.
Spring 2003: President Bush invades Iraq after claiming that Iraq posed an imminent threat correlated to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While fighting in Iraq, terrorists regained a stronghold in Afghanistan. In Iraq, 4,379 Americans have lost their lives.
May 2003: President Bush pushes through the second round of tax cuts through the reconciliation process, again without paying for them. Like the first cuts, these, too, disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans.
June 2003: President Bush claims “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. 97% of American casualties in Iraq occurred AFTER Bush’s pronouncement.
December 2003: President Bush pushes for passage of Medicare Prescription Drugs bill, without any attempt to pay for it, at a cost of $1 trillion over ten years.
August 29, 2005: President Bush shares a birthday cake photo op with Senator John McCain, as Hurricane Katrina made landfall and amid warnings that the levees in Louisiana may not hold.
December 2007: Under President Bush’s watch, the United States enters the largest and longest recession of a generation.
October 2008: The Bush administration bails out the biggest Wall Street Banks to the tune of nearly $1 trillion.
January 2009: Bush leaves office, leaving behind a dismal economic picture that includes:
• 700,000 jobs lost in the month President Bush leaves office.
• 1.7% GDP growth over the life of his administration, the smallest growth of any U.S. president since 1960.
• As opposed to the budget surplus he inherited from President Clinton, Bush leaves President Obama a budget deficit of $451 billion.
• Real household income DECREASED by $1,000 under President Bush (whereas it GREW by $6,000 under President Clinton).
• President Bush’s administration added $4 trillion to the national debt, from $5.727 trillion and projections of surplus in 2001 to a national debt of more than $9.849 trillion in 2008 and projections of continued deficit.
• 700,000 jobs lost in the month President Bush leaves office.
• 1.7% GDP growth over the life of his administration, the smallest growth of any U.S. president since 1960.
• As opposed to the budget surplus he inherited from President Clinton, Bush leaves President Obama a budget deficit of $451 billion.
• Real household income DECREASED by $1,000 under President Bush (whereas it GREW by $6,000 under President Clinton).
• President Bush’s administration added $4 trillion to the national debt, from $5.727 trillion and projections of surplus in 2001 to a national debt of more than $9.849 trillion in 2008 and projections of continued deficit.
October 2009: Under President Obama, the U.S. economy grows for the first time since the Bush recession started in 2007, at a rate of 3.5% for the third quarter of 2009.
This week: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report saying the economic stimulus law added between 1 million to 2.1 million workers to employment rolls by the end of last year. The CBO study also said the stimulus added between 1.5 to 3.5 percentage points to the growth of the economy in 2009. Additionally, the U.S. economy grew 5.9% in Q4 2009.
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