Republicans Are The Real Budget-Busters. Pass It On.

George H. Bush ran up a $290 billion budget deficit in his last year as President.

Bill Clinton converted that deficit into a surplus. Actually, three years of budget surpluses. And he managed to pay down $360 billion of prior years’ federal debt.

Then came George W. Bush, a huge tax cut + Iraq and Afghanistan with no revenue added to pay for them. Bush’s deficit in 2008, his final year in office, was $1.4 trillion.

Barack Obama trimmed that deficit down by nearly a trillion dollars, to $589 billion.

Trump Nearly Doubled the National Debt

That’s where federal revenue and spending was when Donald Trump entered the White House with a promise to pay off the entire national debt in 10 years. Instead, during his four years in office, the national debt nearly doubled, to $7.8 trillion, peaking at a record $3.1 trillion in 2020. 

Much of Trump’s spending was required to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic. But Trump’s years also produced a massive tax cut combined with unrestrained federal spending.  When the Covid emergency hit, there was no slack in the budget to soften the blow. 

Historic Deficits Under Bush and Trump

According to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, George W. Bush’s deficit gap relative to the size of the economy (11.7%), was the largest in U.S. history. The second largest? Abraham Lincoln (9.4%). Third, Trump (5.2%). Lincoln, of course, had no choice but to pay for the Union cause in the Civil War. Abetted by Republican congressional majorities, Trump and Bush were the most irresponsible managers of the nation’s finances. Ever.

To add a bit more perspective, Trump and Bush ran up more national debt relative to the size of the economy than the Democratic presidents who managed budgets during World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Great Depression.

Debunking Myths in Political Spending Realities

What’s the message here? For nearly half a century (Reagan also was a budget-buster. Look it up)  Republican presidents have been the big spenders and the Democrats have produced lower budget deficits. That’s not political rhetoric, it’s fact.

Why then, in poll-after-poll, do majorities of voters believe just the opposite? It’s the media’s job to separate fact from fiction. Clearly that hasn’t happened.

So, If Democrats are interested in sharpening up their political messaging, and they well should be, telling the real story of government spending, over and over and over again, would be an excellent place to begin.

Comments? Criticism? Contact Joe Rothstein at jrothstein@rothstein.net