Question

Study the chart showing federal government debt from 1992 to 2004.

A bar graph titled Federal Government Debt. The x-axis is labeled Year from 1992 to 2004. The y-axis is labeled Change per Year in millions of dollars from 0 to 600,000 by. In 1992, the debt was 400,000. In 1996, the debt was under 300,000. In 2000, the debt was near 0. In 2004, the debt was over 500,000.

What most likely accounts for the difference in the debt level in the last year of the Bush presidency (1992) and the last year of the Clinton presidency (2000)?

Clinton supported government-funded social programs, while Bush minimized them.
Clinton introduced more open-trading policies, while Bush increased military spending.
Clinton enacted more regulations, while Bush only enacted the Clean Air Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
Clinton presided over economic growth with higher taxes, while the economy under Bush did poorly.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The most likely explanation for the difference in the debt level between the last year of the Clinton presidency (2000) and the last year of the Bush presidency (2004) is:

**Clinton presided over economic growth with higher taxes, while the economy under Bush did poorly.**

During President Clinton's administration, the economy experienced significant growth, which resulted in budget surpluses and a decrease in federal debt levels. In contrast, the early years of the Bush presidency were marked by economic challenges, including tax cuts and increased military spending, contributing to rising federal debt.