WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The policies Bill Clinton followed as US president a quarter century ago will not rescue the current recession-plagued American economy with its industries destroyed by the free trade agreements he championed, Experts told Sputnik.
"Several historical events blessed Bill Clinton's economy — I don't think they are replicable," Ohio Northern University Assistant History Professor Robert Waters said. "There will be no economic expansion when Hillary Clinton takes office, and probably a recession will welcome her."
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton said this week that if elected to be US president in November, she will make her husband, the 42nd US president, in charge of economic policy.
"Making things worse, [current US President Barack] Obama's regulations and the uncertainty they have produced are a permanent drag on the economy, and Hillary will use her phone and pen to bandage and expand them," Waters warned.
Even if Hillary Clinton proves not to be the neo-conservative hawk that many people assume her to be, Obama's defense and foreign policies are going to force increases in military spending, Waters predicted.
"She has promised, and her base will demand higher taxes and higher spending, which will be another drag on the economy. Personally, I think Hillary is at heart pretty far to the left and Bill is too, and they are opportunists, so they will move left for at least the first two years," Waters continued.
All of the additional bureaucratic regulations imposed by Obama will make it hard for any technological breakthroughs during the Clinton years that could change the equation, Waters noted.
"Hillary has promised almost open borders and complained about Obama's few fig leaf enforcement efforts, so [there will be] no tight labor markets at the bottom. Since the Democratic Party is a subsidiary of the tech industry, we will be friending a wave of foreign tech workers," he maintained.
Waters concluded that the economic prospect for a Hillary Clinton presidency would be bleak and that her husband would not be able to transform the economy.
Retired Brown University Assistant Professor of Economics Barry Friedman expressed skepticism that Clinton would be given any effective power to make a difference in directing the US economy if his wife won the November election.
"Since when is a presidential spouse someone who is expected to take programmatic responsibility and be held accountable: Aren't they supposed to be counselors and goodwill ambassadors and advocates?" Friedman asked.
Friedman said Bill Clinton had an impressive record on the economy during his own two terms of office, but he expressed skepticism that the former president would be able to repeat that achievement in the ill-defined role of being some kind of economic policy overlord.
