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Stagflation
A major event in the rise of conservatism, stagflation represented a weird problem in the United States economy. This period emphasized a combination of stagnation and inflation or, simply, a loss of jobs but an increase in prices and wages. The rising tide of unemployment failed to eliminate inflation and, in turn, hurt the economy for a period of time -
OPEC Oil Embargo
As a result of the United States siding with Israel over Egypt in the Yom Kipper War, when President Nixon asked congress for a loan of $2.2 billion in aid for Israel, the Arab members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; a group consisting of 12 of the world's major oil exporting nations) responded by halting oil exports to the US and other Israeli allies. It increased gas and oil prices dramatically in the US, which were also a result of the impending stagflation. -
Establishment of WIN (Whip Inflation Now)
As President Ford's attempt at decreasing the recent inflation in the US economy, he helped establish the group known as WIN. Short for Whip Inflation Now, economic advisors focused on a variety of voluntary anti-inflationary initiatives that individual citizens and businesses could embrace. It also yielded a mass production of advertising. Unfortunately, enthusiasm halted by the New Year as the program failed to generate the results people had hoped for and the program quickly died out. -
Creation of Reaganomics
A label pinned on President Ronald Reagan's policies of tax cuts, social welfare cuts, and increased military spending; it generated huge federal deficits, but also promoted the reorganization of large corporations. -
Budget Reconciliation Act
Helped by the votes of conservative Democrats, Reagan won congressional approval of the Budget Reconciliation Act, which reduced government expenditures on domestic programs by $39 billion. This was part of Reagan's scheme, known as Reaganomics, to cut down on government spending and to increase jobs in the United States. -
Stock Market Crash
A drain in federal treasury in 1987 brought down many S&Ls or saving and loan institutions. S&Ls made up a good amount of stock investments and commercial loans in the 1980s so the destruction of S&Ls led to crash in the stock market in 1987. This made S&Ls virtually worthless and plunged many into bankruptcy. Another major blow to the economy in the late twentieth century. -
Persian Gulf War
One of the many wars fought in the Middle East during the late 1900s, the Persian Gulf War played a large part in the United States economy. Most importantly it exacerbated the federal deficit, forcing Bush to abandon his policy of no more taxes. In 1992 the federal deficit soared to 290 billion dollars from the very costly war. -
Economic Boom from the Internet
With the invention of the World Wide Web from the British physicist Tim Berners-Lee in 1990, economic opportunity sprouted from the internet. Bill Gates made computers and the internet easier to navigate by creating Microsoft in 1995 along with the Windows 95 software. Venture Capitalists began to pour money into new technological institutions making millions and stimulating an economic boom in the process. -
Mortgage Crisis
In 2008 the economy collapsed. A number of events led into this breakdown. For starters American citizens were spending more than they made. It did not help that the government began to encourage the idea that every citizen should own a house. This led to citizens buying houses that they couldn't really afford. More simply put, banks and mortgage companies ran out of capital to put into the purchase of houses causing an economic downfall. -
BP Oil Spill
In 2010 a British Oil Rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded from drilling into a pocket of methane gas killing eleven workers and dumping tons of oil into the gulf. Beyond this being a major ecological disaster, tons of money was lost trying to resolve the issue. For example, President Obama forced BP to set aside 20 billion dollars for the sole purpose of fixing the problem.
