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After the Bill Clinton Bill Clinton economic boom years of the 1990s when George W. Bush George W. Bush took the Oval Office in January 2001, the economy seemingly beganto tilt in the wrong direction, and then around 2002 it began itsslow and grueling descent to nothingness. Clinton did preside over the dot com hay-day, is true, and thatcontributed tremendously to his success as a shrewd economist andpresident, but that"s only part of the Clinton economiclegacy. Clinton invoked change reminiscent of JFK, his hero, who in1963shook Clinton"s hand on the White House lawn, and the peoplegot it and him. Fed-up with 12 years of Republican rule underpresidents who had all but ignored the working people of thiscountry, Clinton and his young vice president, Al Gore Al Gore , won by a landslide, taking 357 electoral votes and forty-threepercent of the popular vote in a three-way race that included Texasbillionaire Ross Perot (Fineman 7-10). Like Clinton, Obama invoked change; in fact, "change"was the key word in his campaign slogan, and after eight years ofleadership under a Republican president once again, the Americanpeople voted for and got that change. However, unlike his father,George W. Bush plundered Clinton"s surplus, began twoexpensive wars, continued to spend and then handed the tatteredeconomic reigns of this country to President Obama. Obama was given a country by the voters that in all reality hadbeen raped by most of the nations wealthiest, deregulated to thehilt, which allowed Mega-Banks and Wall Street to secretly investand swap the people's money, and in financial disarray. But, thewealthiest of your nation loved it - they prospered Unlike the Clinton years, when corporations were located within theUnited States and paid their fair-share in taxes as did everyone,as well as he being hawkish on illegal immigration, which as aresult allowed the well-oiled wheel to roll freely, and everyoneseemed to receive a piece of the pie. Bush, however, untied all of that, lowering corporate tax rateswhile corporations still sought refuge offshore, importing cheaperimmigrant labor, and storing money in offshore tax shelters. All inthe name of trickle-down economics … "give us breaksand you, America, will also reap the results" was theirmantra. This would never happen … the setting of the trapwas put in motion. CEO salaries quadrupled during the Bush years, while workingAmerican"s salaries slowly declined and jobs began to wane.Bush"s compassionate conservatism amounted to a $300 check sent to American adult family membersduring the economic decline. The wealthy continue to prosper on the backs of working Americans who are losing jobs in mass layoffs, salaries are being cut andslashed, and unemployment continues to rise. But that"sseemingly how today"s extreme far right wants it. Enter the road blockers, the Tea Party, and the new "sayno" Congress. Tea Party extremist Richard Mourdock has gone so far as to say their hero, former President Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan , wouldn"t make it in the GOP today. The Tea Party hasinfiltrated Congress, blocked every job creating piece oflegislation that President Obama and the Democrats have put forth,has said their ultimate goal is to make the president a one-termer,and they"re taking working-class Americans down in theireffort to do it. And the trap begins to close on all Americans. The Tea Party Congress apparently is not working for the Americanpeople but the wealthy instead under the guise of Americans for Prosperity , a group whose founders are said to be the ultra-wealthy Koch brothers , the owners of the trap. The goal of the trap is for thewealthiest Americans to get as wealthy as possible by purchasingpeople (politicians), and votes while using working-class Americansas the bait, with the promise to them of trickle-down economics,"let us prosper and you will survive." The far right says: No higher taxes! No unions! No regulations! Getrid of everything that preserves and protects the sanctity ofworking-class Americans, because we no longer need them. This seemsto be their ultimate goal. However, under Clinton, when the tax rate for families making $250,000 or more was 39.6% roughly his entireeight-year period as president, America as a whole prospered, notjust a select few, and let's not forget that then corporations werehere on U.S. soil and paying their fair-share. The taste of mega-wealth is something that"s apparently hardto get rid of, like an alcoholic can"t stop at one drink, hasto have more, and often does whatever it takes to get it. So, thetrap is sprung and working class Americans are, at present,hopelessly caught in it. Work Cited Fineman, Howard. "The Torch Passes." Newsweek . December 1992: 7-10. Print. If you like to write about U.S. politics and Campaign 2012, enter "The American Pundit" competition. Allvoices is awarding four $250 prizes each monthbetween now and November. These monthly winners earn eligibilityfor the $5,000 grand prize, to be awarded after the Novemberelection. 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