Old Media Again Lets Clinton Take Credit for 1990s Economy

[adabfree]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot moderator Democratic Underground)

By Tom Blumer | February 18, 2008 - 14:29 ET

I see that Bill Clinton is once again taking credit for the "good things" that happened in the 1990s, as Jack Tapper at ABC's Political Punch reports:

"There are two competing moods in America today," Clinton said. "People who want something fresh and new -- and they find it inspiring that we might elect a president who literally was not part of any of the good things that happened or any of the bad things that were stopped before. The explicit argument of the campaign against Hillary is that 'No one who was involved in the 1990s or this decade can possibly be an effective president because they had fights. We're not going to have any of those anymore.' Well, if you believe that, I got some land I wanna sell you."


I also see that Tapper is letting Mr. Clinton's claims pass as if they are undeniable facts, as others in Old Media have done for so many years:
Presumably, by "any of the good things that happened" in the 1990s, Clinton is referring to the things he did as president (except for the ones his wife now distances herself from, such as NAFTA).


The "good things" that happened in the 1990s were primarily economic. There's little doubt that Mr. Clinton's latest brags capitalize on the established folklore that his administration is responsible for the the good things that happened in the 1990s economy, but not for the difficulties that became evident during the final year of his stewardship and carried into the administration of George W. Bush

So let's recount the economy of the 1990s:

First, give Mr. Clinton credit for NAFTA (sorry anti-free traders), which helped set the table for feast to come later.

That said, really good things didn't start consistently happening until 1996, shortly after the 1994 Gingrich Revolution, when the GOP took over Congress and the Senate.


http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/02/18/old-media-again-lets-clinton-take-full-credit-1990s-economy

[damntexdem]

1. Well, the economy has done better under Democrats than under the GOP.

Whether it might have done even better under a different Democrat is hard to say.

[niyad]

2. let's see--clinton can't take credit for the economy in the '90s, but we

can't nail bush for what is happening to the economy during HIS term?

can we say double-standard?

[jackson_dem]

3. More rethug talking points about the Clintons suddenly being brought to Democrats by Obamanation

[adabfree]

5. awwwwwwwwww

:rofl:

[K Gardner]

4. Let her have it. She's got nothing else. Sad, really.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. Hi adabfree,

Please be aware that DU copyright rules require that excerpts of copyrighted material be limited to four paragraphs and must include a link to the original source.

best,
wakemeupwhenitsover
DU Mod

[adabfree]

thank you...will file away for the future

[Selatius]

7. I call bullshit on Tom Blumer and supply-side tax cuts on capital gains.

When you cut capital gains taxes, you don't raise more capital gains tax revenue after the cut. The basic logic still holds that cutting taxes won't, in the future, lead to increased tax revenue. Anybody who remembered the inner-circle of Reagan when he came to power knows the numbers didn't add up when looking at projected revenues after supply-side tax cuts, but that didn't stop point man David Stockman, appointed to run the OMB in 1981, from pushing through the Reaganomics tax cuts.

Cutting taxes to raise revenue was bullshit math then, and it's bullshit math now.

[adabfree]

8. I appreciate your response..

I posted the article for discussion....

[HeraldSquare212]

9. Well, I think free money and the tech boom had more to do with it.

Companies invested massive amounts into productivity-increasing tech tools. It was the amazing productivity gains that fueled the economy.

[OHdem10]

10. Are you therefore saying, GWB and Conservatism had nothing

to do with the economy from 2000 to 2008???? Sounds that way.

Bill Clinton set up policies which did bring prosperity during
the nineties and not one Republican voted for them. This is
a known fact.

It is the custom that Presidents get credit for what happens
during their term(s) in office. So Bill Clinton gets the credit.