Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

rdstrmfblynch79 t1_is8cj96 wrote

Reply to comment by HowLittleIKnow in Maine voters to choose governor amid economic uncertainty and social upheaval by soulc

What did people feel like in the late 90s? I was just a kid, but from a naive retro-perspective I see a between-major-conflict time with a booming economy. Pre bubble and post recession. Interest rates reasonable and inflation tamed. Unemployment lowest since pre oil crisis. I guess looking at a lot of music then, there was anti-establishment vibes? But I watch a lot of snl from these times and the weekend updates just seem so tame compared to either what they could have been for years before or shortly after.

Like what the heck could people be complaining about then?? (I know people will always complain.... Just curious)

7

HowLittleIKnow t1_is8vxdi wrote

The 1990s were great in retrospect. The problem is that the good bits only lasted about six years, which is really nothing while it's happening. The decade started with the worst crime rate that anyone had ever experienced, a recession, and the lingering belief that we would all die of a nuclear war any second.

Clinton got elected in 1992 and things started to get better, but not fast or dramatically enough that many people noticed. Meanwhile, the media ("Y2K!" "Violent Video Games!") and the Republicans ("Lewinsky!" "Travelgate!" "Whitewater!") managed to convince half the country that everything absolutely sucked and was things were going to get worse. By the end of the decade, Clinton had been impeached, the tech bubble had burst, and 9/11 was right around the corner. If you blinked, you missed the good parts or never really felt them anyway.

10