dot com

In 1997 Clinton and Gingrich agreed to cut spending and cut targeted taxes. The spending cuts would be in defense and non-defense discretionary spending. The result was that revenues exceeded spending for four consecutive years from 1998 to 2001. Much of this was attributed to the dot com bubble. When Clinton took office, the Nasdaq was at 450 and when he left it was 5000. Within 18 months after he left office the bubble burst and the Nasdaq dropped to 1100. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart and both Clinton and Gingrich were given credit for balancing the budget for four years. In those four years the dot com companies gained $5 trillion in value and then lost most of it in less than two years.