Changes in the Economy during Bill Clintons Term as President of the US - Research Paper Example

Module History and Political Science: The positive changes in the economy of the United s during Bill Clintons term as President of the United States of America INTRODUCTION William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton was elected to serve as the 42nd President of America in the 1992. He would end up serving two terms between 1993 and 2001. While Clinton’s presidency was encumbered by controversial scandals and dubious political decisions, he is always credited with having initiated economic policies that propelled the nation into new realms of prosperity. During Clinton’s presidential tenure, it is estimated that 6 million job vacancies were generated. Bill Clinton also created a comprehensive economic plan that made it possible for the low income families as well as small-sized businesses to not to be taxed. Clinton also ratified a large deficit reduction plan. Bill Clinton’s Economic Leadership One of the main reasons why Clinton was so successful was because he had skilled financial advisers who encouraged him to create practical policy decisions. Clinton’s economic policies would strengthen the American middle class thus assisting low-income families to capitalize on opportunities to lift themselves from the state of disenfranchisement. Clinton’s economic policies also made it possible for grants to be supplied to the science, educational, and infrastructure sectors, while tackling bridging fiscal gap. These policies essentially made it possible for the United States to benefit from the economic success that it would experience in the 1990s. A robust middle class is necessary for any nation to become developed. A weak middle class group can cause the national economy to stagnate. Bill Clinton’s Economic Policies To strengthen the American middle class, Clinton created policies which would help families to be able to rebound from temporary financial stresses. Clinton was lucky in this respect because his actions were supported by congress; which is something that few presidents are lucky enough to experience. Some of these policies included: The Family and Medical Leave Act - This regulation made it possible for parents to be able to benefit from up to 84 days of unpaid leave when they needed to care for sick relatives or their infant children. Business organizations could not dismiss workers who made the decision to take advantage of this act. Increased minimum wages - Congress, in 1996, agreed to a 20 percent increase for workers who subsisted on minimum wage. This meant that those who formerly earned $4.25 per hour would then start earning $5.15 per hour. This increase would positively affect approximately 10 million full-time workers (Wood, 72). This incentive would not impact negatively on American employers. The child tax credit - President Clinton also ratified the existence of middle-class tax cuts. The child tax credit meant that families which had children would be able to benefit from approximately $18 billion in tax benefits. Clinton also believed that he could create jobs by putting in place market laws that were beneficial to the middle class population. These policies included: The Welfare reform- During Clinton’s tenure, the American Congress availed $3 billion to restructure the provision of welfare so as to be able to assist millions of families to be able to improve their lives by providing more opportunities for getting good jobs. This move would make it possible for 200,000 people to be able to benefit from housing vouchers which made them more employable. The welfare-to-work factor also inspired more organizations to take on welfare recipients as permanent workers. Clinton’s welfare policy would also ensure that low income communities benefited from federal support which was meant to provide low income workers with transportation. According to Shields, Whayne, and Kelley all these improvements resulted in the numbers of people that were dependent on welfare dropping (Shields, Whayne, and Kelley, 113). An expanded earned income tax credit- In 1993, Clinton, as part of his bigger budget package, Clinton, along with the American Congress, expanded the Expanded Income Tax Credit to be able to provide more benefits for working families (White, 239). In terms of improving educational policy, the Clinton administration invested in educational institutions to a greater extent than former presidencies. Clinton would increase the federal funds made available for secondary as well as primary school facilities. The American congress also provided funds for more in depth workforce training while making colleges more accessible to students from low income as well as middle class families. This was accomplished through Pell Grant award, the Lifetime Learning tax credit, the Student Loan Reform Act which was ratified in 1993, and the Hope Scholarship tax credit. Investment in Technology The Clinton presidency also oversaw the emergence of the internet as a forum for numerous endeavors among which was conducting business transactions. In 1993 when Clinton first assumed the office of President, the World Wide Web consisted of just 50 sites. More than seven years later, there would be approximately 55 million sites (Meeropol, 7). This exponential development was the result of intense investment in the internet during the early years of experimentation. Clinton’s administration would invest in various innovation technologies all through the 1990s. The policies that were initiated to provide funding for these relatively new technologies included: The Support for the National Institutes of Health- During Clinton’s presidency, NIH funding was increased by 40 percent and stood at more than $12 billion on a yearly basis (Meeropol, 11). By 2000, the funds had surpassed $15 billion on an annual basis. These funds would be used for researching different aspects of containing the spread of disease and maintaining health. Federal funding for scientific research- According to Harris, the National Science Foundation benefited from increased funding from the American congress (Harris, 29). This boosted university-based studies which would train potential engineers and scientists. Another way in which president Clinton improved his nation’s economy is by investing in the nation’s infrastructure. Clinton increased federal grants for infrastructure such as bridges, roads, highways, seaports, and canals. According to Godwin, by the end of Clinton’s presidential term towards 2001, approximately 47 billion was being spent on the infrastructure (Godwin, 132). CONCLUSION The American economy developed consistently during the Clinton administration. There were extremely low rates of unemployment, and there were numerous social programs which were federally supported and were intended to help low income families. Internationally President Clinton was considered to be a symbol for greater integration. Moreover, the role of his economic advisers as well as the agreeable American congress contributed greatly to the success of his economic policies. President Clinton was very fortunate to have the services of the wise chairman of the federal government, Alan Greenspan. President Clinton also accepted the importance of recognizing the important role of federal government as he realized that the success of his economic agenda was essentially dependent on the maintenance of low interest rates. Works Cited Godwin, Jack. Clintonomics: How Bill Clinton Reengineered the Reagan Revolution. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2009. Print. Harris, John. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006. Meeropol, Michael. “Confronting Rubinomics and the Clinton Administration Economic Boom.” Journal of Business and Public Affairs 1.1(2007): 1-13. Shields, Todd, Jeannie Whayne, and Donald Kelley. The Clinton Riddle: Perspectives on the Forty-second President. Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 2004. Print. White, Mark. The Presidency of Bill Clinton: The Legacy of a New Domestic and Foreign Policy. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2012. Wood, Dan. The politics of economic leadership: The causes and consequences of presidential rhetoric. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print. Read More