Few points:
Separate the stock market performance from study of the economy. As pointed out, P/Es are heavily separated from reality. Thus, stock prices may merely reflect the BELIEF of growth of future earnings.
As for the tax cuts - money was not "borrowed/printed" for the tax cuts; but SPENT to pay the various professional voters who receive the money as welfare. This "the money you bought that gun with was stolen by republicans from old people's medicare" s**t has to stop.
Now, for the actual ECONOMY, it's hard to say Bubba had any effect. He may have leaned on the fed to "inject liquidity" - i.e. do stuff that causes the amount of credit to grow. Or maybe he didn't.
Credit growth is cool, credit growth is fun, and credit growth looks like a "boom". Try it - get EVERY credit card you are sent in the mail and max it out one year - say you got 100 grand. Fun, isn't it? Had a good year, didn't you?
Say the next year after that, you don't spend another 100 grand. You actually perhaps start paying off some of that debt. Not fun any more, is it?
In which year were you smarter?
The tax cut wasn't that large compared to the "taking out equity" refinancings.
Cutting wealth redistribution WOULD improve the economy in a positive way. Printing up money and having everyone go harder into debt improves the numbers we're quoting, as well, although this case has an ugly backlash when the music stops.
