1990-2000
With the median home prices going from $79,100 in 1990 to $119,600 in 2000 and the average inflation rate falling from 5.4% to 3.4%, the 90s aren’t looking so bright but, in fact, they’re seen as experts and historians as economically prosperous.
The decade started off with a recession due to the S&P 500’s boom. A great number of American households suffered from the stock market crash, in addition to the failures of several savings and loan associations. What’s more, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 also caused a spike in oil prices, further worsening the recession.
The drain of federal resources was felt by everyone, big and small, from workers to business owners across the country.
That being said, some events did help the American people. For example, the 10-year mortgage rate fell from 10.13% to 8.05%. Bank failure numbers also fell from a disheartening 381 to just 7.
It was after Bill Clinton took office that our economy saw a great and lengthy expansion, turning the 90s around.
