Hmm 2 things I have to pipe in here.
The economy was mainly booming for one good reason. The fact that hard working people make products that people want/need and that spreads so on and on and on creating business, wealth, jobs etc..
And recessions pretty much come around every 8-10 years usually in conjuction with getting fucked on energy prices. I work in business so I have seen first hand how the increased cost of energy has slowed things down. See if I have to pay more to transport goods, then the user has to pay more and will use less because his customers get the trickle down effect of transporting goods to the market and have to pay more too and thier customers and so on
. Add in the fact that it costs 40-50% more to fuel your vehicle and to heat your homes and turn on your lights, then the incresed cost of goods, little increases that you don't notice but add up take a toll on business, the employees, your savings hence the consumers and users of products have no choice but not spend aas much etc and voila you have a recession.
Taxes go up and down, people get elected and re-elected but the bottom line is Joe Blow still has to go and earn a buck so whatever dildo is in office does not make a huge difference in your everday life.
Trust me if Bill Clinton was able to legally run for a third term and had won(which he would have) there would have been an economic slowdown regardless and then people would blame him instead.
In fact the economic slowdown started approx a year before Clinton even left office, round the time the energy companies started fucking aorund and the realities of the dot com companies and the bullshitting hit the fan.
The slowdown is probably not far off it's peek then we recover over the next year or so, then things are grand for the next 7-8 years and we will praise and kiss whoever is in power's ass at that time even though it's you and I and everyone else from Canada and the USA and even Mexico who do all the fucking work.
Just my $.30, $.18 after tax