| SamuelRSmith said: a) That is a very unsubstantiated graph. Both how deficits and GDP are measured have changed over time. In addition to this, GDP is dramatically higher, thus you can have higher deficits at a lower "percentage of GDP". The point may still be correct, I don't know, but that graph isn't evidence. b) Yes, they are. c) The economic crisis of 2008 was bigger than any one President. The housing bubble was a result of loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, with cash flowing out of the dotcom bust and into housing. It can be argued that specific policies channeled this flow into housing, from both the Bush and Clinton administrations... however, that bubble would have just formed elsewhere. There are still bubbles waiting to be popped... tech, cars, stock market, etc. Buckle yourself in, we're in for one wild ride. |
the housing bubble had nothing AT ALL to do with the federal reserve or with the dotcom bubble of 2000-01 (the latter is a separate economic recession resulting from speculation on internet startups, and the former has actually helped, through quantitative easing, to keep interest rates down during the recession and encourage investment)... it had to do with deregulation of the banks begun by reagan, continued (unfortunately) by clinton and congressional republicans, and continued even more enthusiastically by george w. bush (all wikipedia, hopefully you don't think they're left-wing...).
as for your catastrophism about the future, i can't really answer to that. you can't safeguard against all risk, but to be honest, it is republican economic policy that caused the great recession for the most part, and i think that needs to be recognized (which, to be fair, you sort of do in your post above).
