Tuesday, October 04, 2005
THE AMERICAN COLLAPSE: THE ROARING NINETIES OF BILL CLINTON (1993-2000)
Bill Clinton won the election with less than half of the votes as detailed in the last entry. It was probably a good thing he won. The past twelve years had allowed a mindset of anger and futility in many groups that were feeling left out of the political game and social relevancy. These included Blacks, women, the working class, the poor and liberals.
Clinton was born without status. He was the any boy can grow up to be President. Raised by his Mom in the South. Probably out-of-wedlock. Very smart, ambitious and most of all charming. Even his political enemies commented on his charm. He was hard not to like in person. He was a fun President, young and energetic. And the first Baby Boom President as well.
The economy turned around from the recent recession quickly. It only got better from there. Much better. The Great Boom of the nineties. While forces beyond Clinton were the cause, he did his best not to disrupt the party. The main area of growth was technology, mainly the PC and then the Internet. Jobs were plentiful. Many got rich or super-rich. Secretaries in the new start-ups became millionaires. Inflation was under good control thanks to former Fed Chairman Volker a decade earlier. Current Chair Greenspan was a public hero and named The Maestro. History would not remember him so well.
The stock market was the new buzz. Record numbers of citizens invested on their own or through retirement plans. The market soared to new heights. Newer companies made incredible gains. Qualcomm went up 2,000% in 1999! Stock options were making engineers millionaires by age thirty.
The coffers of local, state and the federal government overflowed. Spending the surplus was big talk. The Republicans wanted tax cuts, while the Democrats wanted more social programs.
Sure, there were problems, but who cares? Good times are here to stay. Everybody was going to get rich. Market cycles and normal valuations of companies no longer mattered. There was no place to go but up and America as number one in every meaningful category.
Clinton was born without status. He was the any boy can grow up to be President. Raised by his Mom in the South. Probably out-of-wedlock. Very smart, ambitious and most of all charming. Even his political enemies commented on his charm. He was hard not to like in person. He was a fun President, young and energetic. And the first Baby Boom President as well.
The economy turned around from the recent recession quickly. It only got better from there. Much better. The Great Boom of the nineties. While forces beyond Clinton were the cause, he did his best not to disrupt the party. The main area of growth was technology, mainly the PC and then the Internet. Jobs were plentiful. Many got rich or super-rich. Secretaries in the new start-ups became millionaires. Inflation was under good control thanks to former Fed Chairman Volker a decade earlier. Current Chair Greenspan was a public hero and named The Maestro. History would not remember him so well.
The stock market was the new buzz. Record numbers of citizens invested on their own or through retirement plans. The market soared to new heights. Newer companies made incredible gains. Qualcomm went up 2,000% in 1999! Stock options were making engineers millionaires by age thirty.
The coffers of local, state and the federal government overflowed. Spending the surplus was big talk. The Republicans wanted tax cuts, while the Democrats wanted more social programs.
Sure, there were problems, but who cares? Good times are here to stay. Everybody was going to get rich. Market cycles and normal valuations of companies no longer mattered. There was no place to go but up and America as number one in every meaningful category.
