George W. Bush

==== 2008 financial crisis ====
In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post–[[World War II]] recession,<ref name=longest1 /> [[Causes of the Great Recession|caused]] by a [[United States housing market correction|housing market correction]], a [[subprime mortgage crisis]], [[2000s energy crisis|soaring oil prices]], and other factors. In February 2008, 63,000 jobs were lost, a five-year record,<ref>Aversa, Jeannine, [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/23518599 Employers Slash 63,000 Jobs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403222700/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23518599 |date=April 3, 2020 }}, "Employers slash jobs by most in{{nbs}}5 years", Associated Press, March 7, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.</ref> and in November, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in the United States in 34 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P146055.asp|title=The numbers behind the lies|last=Fleckenstein|first=Bill|date=March 6, 2006|work=[[MSN Money]]|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228031542/http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P146055.asp|archive-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> The [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9&nbsp;million jobs were lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf|title=The Employment Situation|date=January 9, 2009|website=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=Department of Labor|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf|archive-date=October 6, 2013}}</ref> By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost 2.6&nbsp;million jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/jobs_december/index.htm|title=Worst year for jobs since '45|last=Goldman|first=David|date=January 9, 2009|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/jobs_december/index.htm|archive-date=October 6, 2013|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

To aid with the situation, Bush signed a $170{{nbs}}billion economic stimulus package which was intended to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses. The Bush administration pushed for significantly increased regulation of [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] in 2003,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html |title=New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae |access-date=June 23, 2009 |date=September 11, 2003 |first=Stephen |last=Labaton |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}</ref> and after two years, the regulations passed the House but died in the Senate. Many Republican senators, as well as influential members of the Bush Administration, feared that the agency created by these regulations would merely be mimicking the private sector's risky practices.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html|title=The Reckoning – Bush's Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire|last1=Becker|first1=Jo|date=December 20, 2008|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213173917/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html|archive-date=December 13, 2013|last2=Stolberg|first2=Sheryl G.|page=4 of 6|last3=Labaton|first3=Stephen}}</ref><ref name="admin crisis">{{cite web |url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1461 |title=H.R. 1461 (109th): Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005 |date=May 25, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305114601/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1461 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 5, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-prexy.4.16321064.html|title=Bush can share the blame for financial crisis|last1=Stolberg|first1=Sheryl G.|date=September 20, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414140254/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-prexy.4.16321064.html|archive-date=April 14, 2014|last2=Landler|first2=Mark}}</ref> In September 2008, [[Financial crisis of 2007–08|the crisis became much more serious]] beginning with the government takeover of [[Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac|Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac]] followed by the collapse of [[Lehman Brothers]] and a federal bailout of [[American International Group]] for $85{{nbs}}billion.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose|url-access=registration|title=The Concise Encyclopedia of The Great Recession 2007–2012|last=Rosenberg|first=Jerry M.|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-8108-8340-6|location=Lanham|page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose/page/244 244]|oclc=806034394}}</ref>

Many economists and world governments determined that the situation had become the worst financial crisis since the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/mar/18/creditcrunch.marketturmoil1 |title=A financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression |last=Elliott |first=Larry |date=March 18, 2008 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111023001/http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/18/creditcrunch.marketturmoil1 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/09/18/worst-financial-crisis-since-30s-with-no-end-yet-in-sight/|title=Worst Financial Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight|last1=Hilsenrath|first1=Jon|date=September 18, 2008|publisher=Fox News|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111115843/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/09/18/worst-financial-crisis-since-30s-with-no-end-yet-in-sight/|archive-date=November 11, 2013|last2=Ng|first2=Serena|last3=Paletta|first3=Damian}}</ref> Additional regulation over the housing market would have been beneficial, according to former Federal Reserve chairman [[Alan Greenspan]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102300193.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 9, 2008 |date=October 24, 2008 |title=Greenspan Says He Was Wrong On Regulation |author1=Irwin, Neil |author2=Amit R. Paley |archive-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821213911/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102300193.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush, meanwhile, proposed a [[Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008|financial rescue plan]] to buy back a large portion of the U.S. mortgage market.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625727.stm |title=Bush hails financial rescue plan |access-date=September 22, 2008 |work=BBC News |date=September 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625727.stm |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}</ref> Vince Reinhardt, a former Federal Reserve economist now at the [[American Enterprise Institute]], said "it would have helped for the Bush administration to empower the folks at Treasury and the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency and the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation|FDIC]] to look at these issues more closely", and additionally, that it would have helped "for Congress to have held hearings".<ref name="admin crisis" />