There is no comparison between the current recession and the 2001 recession. The cause of the 2001 session was primarily high interest rates coupled with a major sell off in computer stocks.It is absurd to believe that employment should have returned to previous levels after the worst recession since the great depression. Anyone who knows anything about economics knows that employment is last thing to recover after a recession. There is nothing the president or congress could have done that would have brought unemployment down significantly. Fiscal stimulus by the government has only a temporary effect of bolstering consumer spending and confidence. Cutting taxes from the current low levels, would have little effect on business expansion. Cutting interest rates would have even less impact.
This recession as all recessions in the past must simply run their course. Business profits are up and businesses are piling up cash. Many of these businesses were near bankruptcy 18 months ago and are not going to significantly expand regardless of tax rates until they are confident that the excesses in the economy have been shaken out and consumer confidence is on the mend. All of this takes time. Government action, whether it be spending, cutting spending, cutting taxes, or raising taxes is only one factor that effects the economy. No action of the government has proven itself effective in turning around the economy consistently.
In the terrible recession after 2001 the unemployment rate soared to 5.99% and Democrats were all over Bush. Within 2 years it was back down under 5%. So of course it is reasonable for things t turn around in 24 months.
They are not going to expand because this is the most anti-business administration since FDR.
The cause of the 2008 recession was structural. The entire home mortgage industry was operating under the premise that there would always be a bigger sucker to buy mortgages of unknown quality. Much of the banking industry was being operated more like a casino than a bank. The housing market was ridiculously overinflated due to a 10 year boom in real estate prices.
Unemployment in the 2001 recession rose 16%. Unemployment went up over 100% in the 2008 recession. The country does not recover from a recession of this magnitude in 2 years regardless of the actions of the president or congress.
Causes of Economic Recession - Why Our Economy Is in a Recession Now - Causes of 2001 Recession