Coming off the greatest economic boom in history during the Clinton administration, experts say the economy appears to be slowing down as George W. Bush and his administration take office.One of the first signs of an economic setback occurred last week when the Federal Reserve Board unexpectedly cut interest rates by half a percent.”It has been clear for about six months that the economy is slowing down,” said Terry Alexander, adjunct associate professor of economics.”Alan Greenspan [chairman of the Federal Reserve] cutting the Federal Funds rates and discount rates was a surprise because it was done in between the regular meeting of the Federal Reserve.”The Bush administration announced it might speed up Bush’s tax-cut plan to help stimulate the economy.”The thing about [Bush’s] tax cut is, in the recent past, the Federal Reserve has not been interested in having tax cuts but would rather have the surplus to pay down the national debt and secure Social Security or Medicare,” Alexander said. “The Federal Reserve may try to offset what they see as irresponsible fiscal policy.”Alexander said another question is whether the Bush plan will stimulate the economy enough. A large cut going to people who will spend their money would stimulate the economy, he said, but a tax cut that affects a fewer number of people who would save their money could hurt the economy.”All presidents can help or hurt the economy by either frightening people in the stock market and undermining the economy, causing people to worry, or they can reassure people in the economy,” said Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science. “This is the psychological aspect.”In a poll by the Associated Press, only a third of Americans expect their family finances to be better in a year, while last spring more than half felt that way.The poll indicated just over two in 10 Americans have a lot of confidence in Bush’s ability to deal with the economy, while four in 10 have some confidence and almost three in 10 said they had no real confidence.A president can stimulate or hurt the economy depending on his stance on taxes and the budget, Schmidt said. If Bush’s plan is the right kind of tax cut it can give the economy a boost, he said.”Bush can also work with the Federal Reserve in looking at interest rates,” Schmidt said. “Although Bush has no control over the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve is political, and if Bush influences the Federal Reserve, they can work together to make smart cuts in interest rates.”If Bush makes the right decisions, the economy will boom, he said. Otherwise, people will continue to worry about the economy.”Most people think that Bush’s tax cut across the board is not exactly the right one because the people who are more likely to stimulate the economy are low-income families because they have credit cards and debts to pay,” Schmidt said. “A majority of the tax cut is going to the rich, who don’t spend as much and tend to save their money.”