Food For Thought That Matters

With the economy in the shape it is in, Americans still losing their jobs, bail outs and stimulus plans, it is time to take a good look how past Presidents performed in office fiscally and how they protected or wasted the taxpayers money.  The current talk is all about future deficits so lets see what Presidents in the past really showed and executed leadership on the subject. 

 

Presidents don't spend federal dollars but it is their leadership that points our fiscal house in the right direction with a sound fiscal and economic policy, the veto pen and the wisdom to recognize problems.  Why is looking at the past so important?  Because it is the key to the future of changing the status quo and understanding the wrong decisions of the past.  Only fools make the same mistake twice and when we are talking about trillions of taxpayers dollars wasted that is criminal.  Below is the list of Presidents who served beginning with fiscal year 1970, Nixon's first budget year and ending with Bush 43 fiscal budget year ending 9/30/08.  Bush's final fiscal budget year does not end until 9/30/09 so no numbers are available for that year yet.

 

Fiscal Years 1970-1977:  The Nixon-Ford Presidency: 

 

Did not balance one federal budget in the 8 years served.

Accumulated a total budget deficit of $250.8 Billion during that term in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly deficit of $31.3 billion.

Nothing was paid down on the governments public debt.

 

 

Fiscal Years 1978-1981:  The Carter Presidency:

 

Did not balance one federal budget in the 4 years served.

Accumulated a total budget deficit of $252.7 billion during that term in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly deficit of $63.1 billion.

Nothing was paid down on the governments public debt.

 

 

Fiscal Years 1982-1989:  The Reagan Presidency

 

Did not balance one federal budget in the 8 years served:

Accumulated a total budget deficit of $1.4 Trillion during that term in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly deficit of $176.5 billion.

Nothing was paid down on the governments public debt.

 

 

Fiscal Years 1990-1993:  The George Herbert Walker Bush Presidency

 

Did not balance one federal budget  in the 4 years served:

Accumulated a total budget deficit of $1.03 Trillion during that term in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly deficit of $258.9 billion.

Nothing was paid down on the governments public debt.

 

Fiscal Years 1994-2001:  The Clinton Presidency.

 

Ran declining deficits the first 4 years in office to the tune of $496.5 billion.  Ran surpluses last 4 years in office with balanced budgets in last 4 years in office. 

Accumulated a budget surplus of $62.8 billion during his term in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly surplus of $7.9 billion.

Paid down $453 billion on the governments public debt.

 

Fiscal Years 2002-2008:  The George W. Bush Presidency.

 

Did not balance one federal budget in first 7 years in office.

Accumulated a total budget deficit of $2.13 Trillion during his first 7 years in office.

That worked out to be an average yearly deficit of $304 billion.

Nothing was paid down on the governments public debt.

 

Note:  Mr. Bush has one more fiscal year budget that ends 9/30/09.  The CBO has already reported the deficit for Mr. Bush's last fiscal year budget will run approximately $1 trillion. 

 

The above represents over $5 trillion of deficit spending not counting Mr. Bush's last budget which is slated to add another $1 trillion to the total.  When you add the interest Uncle Sam has paid on the borrowed money to finance the deficit spending it comes to over $7 Trillion.  That's a total of over $12 trillion.  If any one thinks that is being fiscally responsible, may God help America.  That $7 trillion paid in interest did not educate one child or improve the quality of life for the people. 

 

The past dictates that the future has to change and that Presidents have to set a new course and be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers money.  Real economic and fiscal plans that work and are realistic have to be adopted.  Meanwhile, the people should tune out CNBC and CNN's so called money advise shows.  Journalists on those programs never touch on the massive deficits and debt.  They along with the financial institutions who love those trillions of dollars in interest paid on the debt have failed the American people.

 

The numbers of the Bush 43 Presidency have been devastating.  The American people need to demand change and never take no for an answer.  This is a critical time that should never have been with the proper fiscal Presidential leadership.  It is ironic that those Presidents who claimed to be conservatives hurt our country and people the most with their reckless spending.  They not only failed the test, they were given 28 years at the helm of the American ship and failed big time. 

Above information on Budget numbers taken from Congressional Budget Office Reports.