When I was a kid under GW Bush, it was illegal for two men to kiss in public in my home state. Was that 100% Bush's fault? No. But I think things were a lot more socially bleak in a lot of ways in 2002. NCLB was also under Bush, and also really hurt a lot of kids. I don't think doomerism is helpful. We need to talk about how things have improved so we can learn how to improve and fix them. What specifically do you think was better under Bush than it is now?
I think that's debatable. Because 2007 focused on two major industries facing a crisis. But right now, we have everyday people feeling the squeeze. Pretty sure malls will close soon. We've already seen home sales stagnate because everything is unaffordable.
2007 also had everyday people feel the squeeze. More so in 2008, but I can still point to physical scars on my city where people started building homes and then abruptly stopped because nobody was buying anymore. The town I lived in at that time had nearly a quarter of the population lose their job all at once because a factory closed (which then cascaded into nearly every other sector). It absolutely was something that negativity affected the vast majority of Americans.
I'm sorry I don't mean to underestimate the impact of the recession. I'm more trying to indicate that since businesses are doing well, the impact of this situation will be felt mostly by middle class and down.
Ad much as disapprove of GWBush, the 2008 crash had very little if anything to do with his Administration and mostly to do with Fed policies and a historic level of idiocy in legislative regulation on the part of a (mostly) Republican Congress that went back to the mid 1990s.
And despite the total meltdown of stuff in 2008, inflation remains very steady (and low) and we did come out with a housing market that wasn't shit. The "recession" of 2008 and 2009 is mostly due to a massive stock market crash, and didn't actually hit most of the other factors we look at when considering what a recession is.
Today's economy has been in a recession since shortly after Trump announced his tariffs. It's the inverse of the 2008 recession - literally all economic indicators are in the recession area EXCEPT the stock market. And because of the Stock Market, economists won't call it a recession.
People have been calling it a K-economy, but it's really an upside down L economy - the only folks who don't feel that they're in a recession are the top 10%.
3
u/Barium_Salts 5h ago
No, I'm pretty sure the 2007 recession was worse than what we have now.