Y2K turned out to be a non-event, especially in the wake of September 11, 2001. Also in 2000, a new U.S. president was put in office under a cloud and a bitterly contested election decided by the Supreme Court.
President George W. Bush ran on a platform of tax cuts that he promised would sustain the era of prosperity bequeathed to him by the departing Clinton Administration. Most Americans would argue that the first decade-plus of the new century was less than prosperous for the vast majority of citizens. And now, if you believe them, official income figures add up to a nation significantly poorer than we were in 2000. How much poorer? Would you believe $6.6 trillion?