Yeah the stock market crashed and job losses were primarily concentrated in one sector of the economy, not to mention that that bubble was actually a good bubble, as far as bubbles go. Today we have more fiber optic cables, communications, new industries, and new technologies. The reason it was worse than it needed to be was because Supply-Side Bush decided that after about six years of investment and capacity expansion, what we really needed was more tax cuts for corporations and rich people, when we should have supporting the demand side of the equation. Bush wasn't handed a silver platter, but it wasn't as bad as it needed to be.