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.

Answer 1

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

Explanation: The Clinton years (with tax increases and strong late-1990s economic growth) produced budget surpluses by 2000, reducing debt; the earlier Bush years had recession and larger deficits, leaving higher debt in 1992.