ABSTRACT
The challenge for the US federal government policies and strategies since the economic crisis of 2007 and 2008 has been to reverse financial instabilities and to revive the US economy. Republican president George W. Bush failed to establish a road out of the economic crisis. For many scholars, Republican policies and strategies during the Bush presidency actually stimulated the financial economic crisis of 2007. Two years later, in these difficult times, US citizens elected a Democrat, Barack Obama, as president. However, as it appears up to 2011, the administration has failed to drive the economy toward recovery. Hence, the question arises: “What is wrong with the US economy?” To answer this question we need to investigate the functions of the US market-driven capitalism in the era of neoliberalism. During the 1980s, as a result of the economic policies and strategies applied by the Reagan Administration, the US economy evolved to a neoliberal form of capitalism.
