Agenda New Seats! Extra Credit Option Bush Sr. and the Economy 1992 Election

This ½ Year Review! EXTRA CREDIT Your assignment will be to create a similar song that will review the key concepts from this ½ year of United States History (Jan-9/11). You will also have to create a video with images to help visualize your lyrics. You may work in a group. The maximum is 4 people per group. DUE MONDAY JUNE 17 th !

This ½ Year Review! EXTRA CREDIT Part 1: Write a song that details each decade of our nation’s history beginning with the dropping of the atomic bomb and ending with the attacks on Sept 11 th. You will have to hand in a typed copy of your lyrics Part 2: Create a video using important images or recreations of key historical events. This video will need to be burned onto a CD or saved as a video file on a thumb drive. Use Youtube as a last resort! I cannot rely on the internet to work. No points will be award to groups who do not follow these guidelines.

This ½ Year Review! EXTRA CREDIT What you get in return: This extra credit assignment will be worth 5 bonus points on your final grade before I calculate in your final exam. – Ex: If you currently have an 80% for 4 th quarter…it will become an 85%. You do not automatically get all 5 points. These projects should be good reviews of the material.

1988 Election

Bush’s 1988 Election Strategy Saw what his predecessors did and wanted to separate himself from his opponent, Dukakis His position on the economy: “Read my lips – no new taxes!”

George H. W. Bush & Domestic Issues Recession begins in 1990, caused by: – 1) End of Cold War Previous large deficit caused by Reagan ($3 trillion) US began reducing its armed forces (laying off soldiers and defense industry workers) – 2) Companies began downsizing – laying off workers and managers to become more efficient  unemployment rose – 3) High level of debt made the recession worse (borrowed heavily during the 1980s and now faced paying off large debts)

– 4) Deficit forced the government to borrow money to pay for its programs Borrowing kept $$ from going to businesses Gov’t also had to pay interest on its debt Savings & loan institutions collapsed  had been deregulated by Reagan and afterwards made risky or dishonest investments – Collected on federal programs to ensure deposits Cost to public $500 billion

Bush Tries to Improve the Economy Issued a tax cut for the capital gains tax = the tax paid by businesses and investors when they sell stocks for a profit Believed the tax cut would encourage businesses to expand – Democrats in Congress saw it as a tax break for the rich and defeated it Broke his “no new taxes” campaign pledge – Agreed to a tax increase in exchange for cuts in spending  turned voters against Bush

1992 Election Candidates: – Bush, Quayle (Republican) – Clinton, Gore (Democrat) – Ross Perot, Stockdale (Independent) Bill Clinton  called himself a “New Democrat” to separate himself from more liberal democrats – Promised to cut middle class taxes and spending – Promised to reform the nation’s healthcare and welfare programs – Blamed Bush for the recession Most Americans were unhappy with both Bush and Clinton  enabled Ross Perot to join the race as an independent candidate – Believed in the need to end deficit spending – Grassroots movement (groups of people organizing at the local level) put Perot on the ballot in all 50 states Clinton also the 1 st person from the “baby boomer” generation to enter the White House