Letter: Clinton getting too much credit

Monday, March 22, 2004 | 8:35 a.m.

Sorry folks! Many of you have been giving Bill Clinton all of the credit for a good economy in the 1990s. It isn't so.

Around 1992 a new wave of commerce hit the U.S. Personal computers, coupled with the Internet, created an entirely new industry. How many speculative "dot.bomb" companies were formed, only to collapse at the end of the decade?

Bill Clinton gave us the largest tax increase ever in 1993. He admitted to that. The Republicans took over the House of Representatives in 1994 and held down spending.

The combination of a new industry and more income from Clinton's massive tax increase coupled with a decrease in government spending was the cause for the strong economy in the 1990s.

Bill Clinton has also been given the credit for a balanced budget. Think back. The new Republican Congress, as part of the "Contract with America," was claiming that the budget could be balanced with controlled spending by the year 2007. The Democrats, led by Bill Clinton, railed that it was not possible. Of course, when it was achieved in 1999, Bill Clinton claimed he led the charge for a balanced budget.

The economy was in decline prior to Bush being elected. If Clinton had such magical economic power, why didn't he stop this decline?

TOM SMITH