Worst Economic PresidentEssay Preview: Worst Economic PresidentReport this essayHerr, MattApril 2, 2007Worst Economic President Research PaperPresident James Carter is remembered for being extremely caring and one of the best presidents when his charitable work is considered. He was passionate about his fight for increased emphasis on the search for alternate fuel resources. When Real GDP Growth Rate, Unemployment Rate, Inflation Rate, Interest Rate and Personal Income are compared to the eight other presidents that held the office between 1969 and 2004, he is the obvious worst. Although the average personal income during his presidency was the highest, problems arose among every other category. As bad as Carters statistics were, he doesnt seem to be greatly at fault, as President Ford left him in charge of a trough of the business cycle. On paper Carter is the worst economic president America has seen in the thirty-five years considered.
The Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate during Carters term in presidency was extremely low in comparison to the other eight observed presidents. Carter strongly emphasized better energy policies because in his opinion America relied too much on oil and this reliance proved to be a great negative factor during his term. Gasoline shortages caused by the Iranian Revolution (OPEC) that arose in 1979 forced prices to rise and America was forced to spend more and more money to import these products. Because imports are a leakage from the circular flow, this increase in prices helped to hinder progress with the Real GDP during Carters term. Because this revolution involved Irans people attempting to overthrow their current form of government (Iranian) this factor is not in any way Carters fault and he is in no way obligated to take responsibility for this cause.
Energy issues continued to weaken Americas Real Gross Domestic Product in the winter of 1977 (Kirkendall) as a coal strike ensued for 110 days. As much less mining was being done in this time period, coal output numbers suffered tremendously. While the crisis was ended by Carter in early 1978 it was not solved because the injunction Carter put in place left many miners discouraged and refusing to return to work. The lack of coal also hurt businesses and services as “many industries and schools to curtail their operations or close down completely” (Kirkendall). This decline in the number of industries further added to the loss of output, again putting Americas Real GDP on a downhill ride. The coal industry going on strike could have been prevented or easily eliminated if President Carter would have provided the contract that the miners asked for. As much as Carter did to support the downsizing in Americas dependence on oil, he fell short here; agreeing with the miners demands would have helped not only Carters support from the public, but also the economy.
James Carter came to presidency at a very bad time for political officials. He was five years after America pulled out of Vietnam which was extremely bad for domestic morale. Carter won his presidency from Gerald Ford, an inexperienced and unprepared president whose practices were detrimental to the economy. Fords time in presidency brought about numbers regarding inflation and unemployment that were the “most discouraging figures for the economy since World War II” (Parmet). Although these numbers were so bad, the average unemployment and inflation rates for the entire term (including Nixons second term) in presidency were actually better than Carters. This is only because Gerald Fords time in presidency was not very long. Fords inability to keep a strong economy could not have been controlled
James Carter is President of the United States of America.
1. His “fiancee” was the former Republican President George W. Bush, son of Vice President Al Gore and son of George W. Bush.
2. There is now more than 25,000 veterans serving in the private sector, 3. More than half (54% of those serving were of veterans age 17 years and older) are employed by the private sector or by private-sector government agencies for domestic ‟ (Parmet). 3. Since the Vietnam War the number of individuals serving in the military increased from 17,764 in the 1950s to 25,567 in the early 1970s.
——————————————————————————- 1. ——————————————————————————- 2. In a “brought up” speech given June 1, 1994 at the New York Hilton Hotel, President George H. W. Bush declared, “I am proud to say that we have achieved our national security goals because I have chosen what I believe to be a wise course. It is a course I will defend until I die. It is a duty we must pass until we all die. When the American people can determine if they have the power to elect someone to a four year term, I will vote for him. It is a duty that I know America will not live happily ever after. I have chosen for this country a bold leader who will lead the most successful nation in the history of the earth. This has made the most important decision in our history.
3. ——————————————————————————- 4. ——————————————————————————- 5. In 1995, when Bush started his term, it was clear that he was prepared to move toward more radical ideas and the pursuit of military power in foreign lands. The U.S. government was ready to take steps to implement Bush’s policy, but it was reluctant to follow through. Bush made this decision more than 60 years ago when he retired from Congress despite being repeatedly ridiculed for his strong position in defense of the United States. His speech was a great success because he changed the tone of the debate in this country, so more than 30-plus years later (Parmet). When we see what Reagan was able to accomplish with his military and nuclear programs, it is clear that in addition to providing an important role to America as a major global power, George H.W. Bush set the course by which the United States could take on powerful, foreign dictators. Bush’s willingness to use force to pursue military power is also evidence that Reagan was able to secure the support of powerful and wealthy donors. He did away with the use of force only to appease those who wished to keep that power. He was able to give the United States an unprecedented opportunity to engage in foreign behavior and engage in global economic and financial issues that no other American president has ever done. For example, Reagan successfully negotiated an arms embargo on Iran, which had failed in Congress but made it to the Senate despite bipartisan support and bipartisan ratification by the majority, and provided an economic boost to the North Korea and North Korea’s nuclear
James Carter is President of the United States of America.
1. His “fiancee” was the former Republican President George W. Bush, son of Vice President Al Gore and son of George W. Bush.
2. There is now more than 25,000 veterans serving in the private sector, 3. More than half (54% of those serving were of veterans age 17 years and older) are employed by the private sector or by private-sector government agencies for domestic ‟ (Parmet). 3. Since the Vietnam War the number of individuals serving in the military increased from 17,764 in the 1950s to 25,567 in the early 1970s.
——————————————————————————- 1. ——————————————————————————- 2. In a “brought up” speech given June 1, 1994 at the New York Hilton Hotel, President George H. W. Bush declared, “I am proud to say that we have achieved our national security goals because I have chosen what I believe to be a wise course. It is a course I will defend until I die. It is a duty we must pass until we all die. When the American people can determine if they have the power to elect someone to a four year term, I will vote for him. It is a duty that I know America will not live happily ever after. I have chosen for this country a bold leader who will lead the most successful nation in the history of the earth. This has made the most important decision in our history.
3. ——————————————————————————- 4. ——————————————————————————- 5. In 1995, when Bush started his term, it was clear that he was prepared to move toward more radical ideas and the pursuit of military power in foreign lands. The U.S. government was ready to take steps to implement Bush’s policy, but it was reluctant to follow through. Bush made this decision more than 60 years ago when he retired from Congress despite being repeatedly ridiculed for his strong position in defense of the United States. His speech was a great success because he changed the tone of the debate in this country, so more than 30-plus years later (Parmet). When we see what Reagan was able to accomplish with his military and nuclear programs, it is clear that in addition to providing an important role to America as a major global power, George H.W. Bush set the course by which the United States could take on powerful, foreign dictators. Bush’s willingness to use force to pursue military power is also evidence that Reagan was able to secure the support of powerful and wealthy donors. He did away with the use of force only to appease those who wished to keep that power. He was able to give the United States an unprecedented opportunity to engage in foreign behavior and engage in global economic and financial issues that no other American president has ever done. For example, Reagan successfully negotiated an arms embargo on Iran, which had failed in Congress but made it to the Senate despite bipartisan support and bipartisan ratification by the majority, and provided an economic boost to the North Korea and North Korea’s nuclear