The 2008 RecessionBetween January 2008 and February 2010, employment fell by 8.8 million, the largest decline in American history. The 2008 recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, began with the bursting of an $8 trillion housing bubble. Job losses during the recession led to lower family incomes, increased poverty and suffering across the country. Things like this don't happen by chance. Policy changes embedded in the economy are often a major factor. In this case, all roads lead to one major problem: deregulation. Deregulation initiated by the Carter and Regan administrations, combined with a decline in consumer spending and the subprime mortgage bubble, all led to the major recession of 2008. Looking back at the Carter and Reagan administrations, you can start to see where the recession is coming from. Since. Before the Reagan administration, the U.S. economy experienced a decade of rising unemployment and inflation. Political pressure favored a stimulus, which led to an expansion of the money supply. Reagan wanted to increase defense spending while cutting taxes. Reagan's approach was a departure from that of his immediate predecessors. Reagan adopted lower marginal tax rates, combined with simplified income tax codes and continued deregulation. During Reagan's presidency, annual deficits averaged 4.2 percent of GDP, after inheriting an annual deficit of 2.7 percent of GDP in 1980 under President Carter. The real inflation rate for federal spending rose from 4 percent under Jimmy Carter to 2.5 percent under Reagan. Not only did the Carter and Reagan administrations help cause the recession, but President Clinton did as well. "Clinton then established official government policy... middle of paper... Consumer spending and Shelinski 5 subprime mortgages were major factors in the economic collapse of 2007-2009. All of America suffered from the 2008 recession. Works Cited “Subprime Mortgage Crisis – A Detailed Essay on an Important Event in the History of the Federal Reserve.” Subprime Mortgage Crisis - An in-depth essay on an important event in the history of the Federal Reserve. Np, and Web. May 4, 2014. “World Socialist Website.” GDP and consumer spending contract as US plunges into recession -. Np, and Web. May 4, 2014. “Investopedia – Educating the world about finance. » Investopedia. Np, and Web. May 2, 2014. “The Great Recession. » State of Working America. Np, and Web. May 3, 2014. “Tough times. » The economist. The Economist Journal, October 25, 2011. Web. May 4, 2014. “Consortiumnews.” Consortium News. Robert Perry. Internet. May 21 2014.