Bill Clinton - The Governing Years - His Accomplishments as President - Research Paper Example

Bill Clinton - The Governing Years, His Accomplishments as President Abstract The following information uses articles and research information to show a brief introduction into Bill Clinton’s humble beginnings. His family history, education and how he got started in politics is covered briefly in the introduction. The information further covers his eight years as president and what his major achievements were including, job creation, low unemployment, low inflation and the major decrease in the national debt. There is a brief mention of opposing controversies as well as additional achievements and finally a conclusion that further highlights his career with his recent book “Back to Work.’ Introduction: “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” (Presidential Quotes, 2012). Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. He did not have a father at a very young age as his dad was a traveling salesman and died in a car accident three months before Bill was born. However, his mother married four years later to Roger Clinton. He became an excellent student in high school as well as a good musician. He became very interested in a political career after visiting the Whitehouse as a Boys Nation delegate. He graduated a Rhodes Scholar and was accepted at Oxford University. Being a first year law professor, he ran for the House of Representatives in 1974. He became Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976 and went on to run for Governor in 1978. During this time before becoming president he became known as a democrat who found allies in both Republicans and Democrats. (Kelly, 2012). Bill Clinton was nominated to represent the Democratic Party in 1992. His running campaign focused on job creation and the idea that he was privy to what the common people wanted. The campaign was boosted by a third party candidate, Ross Perot, who took 18.9 percent of the undecided vote away from Republicans and Democrats. Bill Clinton won with a 43 percent vote. The following information highlights Bill Clinton’s career as president of the United States and shows his most valued achievements as a leader. (Kelly, 2012). The Governing Years: The outlook was very bleak in 1992; the country saw 10 million Americans unemployed, record deficits as poverty and welfare were growing by the numbers. Inflation was becoming a daily battle as families saw jobs being created at the slowest rate since the Great Depression. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993 the single most important thing he did for the United States Economy to help the common worker was to create jobs. In the eight years he was in office his administration created more than 22.5 million jobs. Of these newly created jobs, 92 percent were in the private sector. This one fact supports the contention that this was the most jobs ever created under one administration. This lead the way to raising the median family income $6,000 per year for all American families. The average family income became $48,950 up from $42,612 in 1993 during his presidency. During his eight years the economy grew from 2.8 percent to 4.0 percent per year. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). President Clinton is quoted as saying, “Today, many companies are reporting that their number one constraint on growth is the inability to hire workers with the necessary skills.” (Presidential Quotes, 2012). This statement by President Clinton prompted more focus on education standards, choice in schools, and education training. From 1992 to 2000 SAT scores were at a 30-year high. Federal investment in education doubled during those years. President Clinton doubled financial aid for college students by an increase in Pell Grants. He also expanded the Federal Work-Study program so that more students could work their way through college. He created tax credits and scholarships that saved the government $18 billion in defaulted student loans. To continue the progress of education he connected 95 percent of schools to the Internet. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). “When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable.” (Presidential Quotes, 2012). This took a 3,000 percent increase in educational technology funding; however, it raised the percentage from 35 to 95 by 1999. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). He further increased benefits to full time workers with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 which allowed over 20 million Americans to take unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or ill family member. He is quoted as saying, “no single American should choose between a job they need and a child they love.” (Out Cry Book Review, 2012). Unemployment dropped to the lowest percentage in 30 years. Statistics showed that unemployment remained below 5 percent for 40 consecutive months. Unemployment also fell for African Americans as well from 14.2 percent to 7.3 percent by the year 2000. It has also been noted that the unemployment rate fell for Hispanics also from 11.8 percent to 5.0 percent by the year 2000. The research would show that the creation of jobs or putting people back to work is a major contributor to helping other aspects of the economy thrive. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). Lowering inflation from 4.7 percent to 2.5 percent was the lowest seen since the 1960s. Home ownership peaked at 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000, the highest rate ever recorded. This translated into lowering the poverty rate from 15.1 percent to 11.8 percent in the year 2000. This meant that 7 million less Americans were living in poverty in the year 2000 under the Clinton administration. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). The Deficit: History has shown that when President Clinton took office the Federal deficit was 350 billion dollars and increasing steadily. The Clinton administrations reports that in 1998 the deficit had decreased to 10 billion. Pros and cons have challenged this statement many times. He promised a surplus and a balanced budget for the fiscal year 1999. He also requested that the surplus be used to bail out the ailing Social Security at the time. The Clinton records support that he paid off $360 billion in national debt between 1998 and 2000 and was on track to pay off the entire debt by the year 2009. However, there have been opposing issues that recant this statement. Other records show that the deficit never actually reached a zero balance. (Steiner, 2007). Steiner shows the National Debt in Fiscal Year 2000 at $5,674170 trillion and the deficit at $17.91 billion. He contends that the debt never really came to a zero balance. He contends also that Clinton never achieved a surplus debt that he passed on to President Bush. (Steiner, 2007). In an article by Stephen Moore in 1998 he contends that Clinton did not balance the budget. He is quoted in the article as saying, “yes, he was there when it happened. But the record shows that was about the extent of the contribution.” (Moore, 1998). He also contends that lying was something that was frowned upon in Washington, but under the last two presidents, that has changed. (Moore, 1998). Moore contends that the GOP balanced the budget in 1995 when Republicans seized control of Congress. (Moore, 1997). The research shows how opposing parties can skew the information. Clinton’s contention was when the government spends less money than it collects; there will be a surplus. However, in the years between 1998 and 2000 when there was a surplus, he claimed the money could be used to reduce the debt. So he simply proposed to increase revenues and decrease long-term spending. (Eizenga, 2011). Under President Clinton government spending decreased from 22.2 percent in 1992 to 18.5 percent in 2000. This decrease was the lowest seen since the late 1960s. Federal income taxes dropped to the lowest level in 35 years for the average American family. Owning stock became more prominent for the average family and increased by 40 percent in the 1990s. (The Clinton Presidency, 2012). In an article in the Los Angeles Times in November 2011, Carolyn Kellogg writes quoting from ‘Back to Work’ by Bill Clinton; “from 1981 to 2009, “the greatest accomplishment of the anti-government Republican is not to reduce the size of the federal government but to stop paying for it.” (Kellogg, 2011). In the same book ‘Back to Work’ he contends that we are not doing what we have to do to stay ahead of the competition for good jobs, new businesses and future innovations. There are other countries that are close behind us with rising incomes and large investments in innovations today and tomorrow. (Issues 2000, 2011). Other Achievements: There have been many glorious achievements accredited to Bill Clinton during his Presidency, so many that all cannot be mentioned. He recommended minimum wage increases as well as support for $15 billion in jobs in poor communities. He also fought for increases in the child-care tax credit and Equal Pay and Employment Non-Discrimination Acts. (On the Issues, 2004). “President Bill Clinton is an undisputed leader in global health.” (ascp.org, 2011). According to Dr. Tomaszewski, four million people living with HIV/AIDS are receiving medicine that they need to survive. He signed the Brady Bill in 1993, which stopped felons, and fugitives from buying guns. Since the year 2000 gun crimes have declined 40 percent. The crime bill also created 100,000 new police jobs. More than 1200 communities received grants to hire 27,000 additional police officers. The same bill expanded offenses eligible for the death penalty and started the ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ provision. (Keeping Faith With America, 2012). The bill also banned the manufacture of 19 deadly assault weapons, but protected hunters’ rights by excluding 650 hunting rifles. Other achievements include expanding markets for American products through NAFTA. Exports had risen by 23 percent in his first 11 months of 1994. He also led steps to pass GATT, which lowered tariffs all over the world by $744 billion over a ten-year period. GATT made major cuts in manufactured goods in sectors where the US was very competitive. The ‘common sense initiative’ was launched by the EPA under President Clinton to make health protection economical and smarter by focusing on the results. The Northwest Forest Plan helped put those communities back to work while conserving some of the older forests. It took a decade of negotiations to protect the California water system, which provides drinking water, irrigation, and sustains aquatic life. What about his foreign policies? He hosted the signing of the Israli/Palestinian Declaration of Principles in 1993 and 1994 to settle differences between Israel and Arab neighbors by peaceful means. The Partnership for Peace in 1994 brought security and stability to Soviet Republics and NATO in Central/Eastern Europe. He also restored democracy to Haiti as well as secured our borders here in the United States. Conclusion: President Bill Clinton served as president during one of the most booming economic times in American history. There has been a treasure trove of pros and cons about his success as the 42nd president. Some contend that some of his successes have been a result of timing and some luck. There is no doubt that his leadership and ability to surmount a positive consensus has given way to the nostalgia of Clintonomics. In his recent book ‘Back to Work’ he tries to reestablish some of the policies that were successful during his reign as President in the 1990s. (CNN Money, 2011). Whether those same policies will work in this new millennium economy is yet to be seen. The information given highlights his most prized accomplishments being the debt reduction, creation of new jobs, lowering inflation, and raising the median income for all working Americans. President Clinton had something for everybody and he proved in his eight year reign that he had the knowledge and know how to improve the economic status of all Americans. He contends in his book that “if you’re in the private sector, your first obligation is to your investors, to your customers, and to your employees to provide a product or a service at a sufficient profit to keep the enterprise going.” (CNNMoney, 2011). He promoted new ideas and brought together ideas from both parties to build a new vital center in American life. He changed the role of government in the 21st century to give each American the tools to advance their own lives. His political philosophy, known as the Third Way, attracted many admirers around the world and continues to inspire leaders in many nations. “I like the job. That’s what I’ll miss the most….I’m not sure anybody ever liked this as much as I’ve liked it.” (Presidential Quotes, 2012). References A Look At President Clinton’s Accomplishments. (2012). Keeping Faith With America: A Look at President Clinton’s Accomplishments During the First Two Years. Web. 18 March 2012. http://clinton1.nara.gov/White_House/. ASCP Honors President Clinton for Humanitarian Accomplishments. 05 December 2011. Web. 18 March 2012. http://ascp.org/newsroom/. Bill Clinton Quotes. (2012). In the New Economy. Web. 18 March 2012. http://presidentalquotes.org/. Clinton Administration Accomplishments: One World. (2012). Web. 18 March 2012. http://clintonpresidentialcenter.org/. CNNMoney. Bill Clinton: How to fix the economy. 07 October 2011. Web. 18 March 2012. http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/. Eizenga, Jordan. Center for American Progress. What You Need to Know About the Federal Debt Limit. 28 April 2011. Web. 18 March 2012. http://americanprogress.org/issues/. Kellogg, Carolyn. The Los Angeles Times. Book review: ‘Back to Work’ by Bill Clinton. 08 November 2011. Web. 18 March 2012. http://articles.latimes.com/. Kelly, Martin. (2012). Bill Clinton – Forty-second President of the United States. Web. 18 March 2012. http://americanhistory.about.com/od/. Moore, Stephen. Who Balanced the Budget? 07 August 1997. Web. 18 March 2012. http://cato.org/publications/commentary/. Moore, Stephen. No, Bill Clinton Didn’t Balance the Budget. 08 October 1998. Web. 18 March 2012. http://cato.org/publications/commentary/. On the Issues. 09 March 2012. Bill Clinton on Jobs. Web. 18 March 2012. http://ontheissues.org/celeb/. On the Issues. 08 November 2011. Bill Clinton on Budget & Economy. Web. 18 March 2012. http://issues2000.org/celeb/. President Bill Clinton the Greatest. (2012). Achievements. Web. 18 March 2012. http://outcrybookreview.com/. Record of Accomplishment. (2012). William J. Clinton Presidential Center. Web. 18 March 2012. http://clintonpresidentialcenter.org/. Steiner, Craig. The Myth of the Clinton Surplus. 31 October 2007. Web. 18 March 2012. http://craigsteiner.us/articles/. The Clinton Presidency: Historic Economic Growth. (2012). Web. 18 March 2012. http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/. The Clinton Presidency: Key Accomplishments. (2012). The Clinton Gore Administration, A Record of Progress. Web. 18 March 2012. http://clinton5.nara.gov,WH/ Read More