From 1981 to 2020, a period of 40 years four republican administrations and two democratic administrations led the nation. Republican President's Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Democratic President's Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama. The Republicans served a total of 24 years. Reagan (8) Bush 41 (4) Bush 43 (8) and Trump 4. The Democrats Clinton 8 and Obama 8 served a total of 16 years. The below information tells the story of the great explosion of federal spending and debt and when the federal government's fiscal house came tumbling down. It also tells the story of job creation, the economy and the issues connected to both. Keep in mind that the national debt at the end of President Carter's last fiscal year was less than one trillion dollars. It came in at $997 billion.
Total federal spending in Reagan's 8 fiscal years was up 75%. In Bush 41 four fiscal years total federal spending was up 28%. In Bush 43 eight fiscal years total federal spending was up 61%. Trump's fourth fiscal year ends 9/30/21 so his total federal spending is unknown at the time. But we do know that spending in his first three fiscal years spending is up 28% from Obama's last three fiscal years. Total federal spending in Clinton's 8 fiscal years was up 28% an even 14% in each term. Total federal spending in Obama's 8 fiscal years was up 25%.
Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump never balanced one federal budget in the 24 years they served and ended their last budget year with a larger federal deficit than when they took office. Clinton reduced deficit spending every year his first four years in office and balanced the budget with surpluses every year his last four years in office. His surpluses exceeded his total deficits. Obama never balanced one federal budget but he did leave office with a smaller deficit than when he took office. Bush's deficit when he left office was a record (at the time) $1.4 trillion. It was the very first single year deficit to reach a trillion dollars. Obama left office with a deficit of $666 billion and cut deficit spending five times.
Note: No republican President has balanced the federal budget since President Eisenhower in 1960. And no republican President has left office with a smaller deficit than when he took office in the last 60 years but every democratic President did leave office with a smaller deficit than when he took office. The only exception was President Carter.
The unemployment rate fell 2.1% on Reagan's watch. It increased 1.9% on Bush 41 watch. It increased 3.6% on Bush 43 watch and it increased 1.6% on Trump's watch. The unemployment rate fell 3.1% on Clinton's watch and 3.1% on Obama's watch.
Note: Reagan is the only republican President in the last 72 years that left office with the unemployment rate lower than when he took office. But every democratic President during that same period of time left office with a lower unemployment rate than when they took office. The only exception was President Carter where the unemployment rate stayed the same when he left office as when he took office. But Reagan also holds the record for the worst unemployment stretch in the last 72 years when the unemployment rate stood at over 10% for ten straight months from September 1982 to June 1983. No other administration has come even close to that record.
The national debt in Reagan's 8 fiscal years increased 187%. It increased 54% on Bush 41 four fiscal years. It increased 105% in Bush 43 eight fiscal years and so far under President Trump it has increased 39% and his last fiscal year does not end until 9/30/21 so the percentage will be higher. The national debt increased 31% on Clinton's watch and 70% on Obama's watch.
Note: The Clinton administration paid down over $400 billion in the national debt, the only President to pay down anything on the debt in those 40 years. The Reagan administration started the country off on its massive federal spending spree and increase in the national debt.
The country suffered an economic recession on the Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump watch despite the massive tax cuts by the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump administrations. No economic recession took place on Clinton's watch and none originated on Obama's watch although Obama had to deal with the spill over of the Bush 43 great economic recession of 2008.
Note: Every republican administration in the last 100 years gave the country an economic recession.
The financial collapse of the Homestead Savings and Loan industry took place on Reagan's watch and the financial collapse of the Wall Street Banks took place on the watch of Bush 43. Both events cost the federal government trillions of dollars and both enjoyed the benefits of the Reagan and Bush tax cuts. Both enjoyed the deregulation of their industries also which was a factor in their collapse.
During Reagan's term in office 16.1 million new jobs were created. During Bush 41 term in office, 2.5 million new jobs were created. During Clinton's term in office 22.7 million new jobs were created. During Bush 43 term in office, 1.3 million new jobs were created. During Obama's term in office 11.3 million new jobs were created. During Trump's term in office 2.7 million jobs were lost.
Note. President Clinton created more jobs in his 8 years in office than Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump created in the 24 years they served in office. And President Obama created more jobs in his 8 years in office than Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump did in their 16 years in office. And Clinton raised taxes on corporate America and the wealthy and Obama allowed the Bush 43 tax cuts to expire on those making over $550,000.00 a year. Obama created more jobs than Trump did even before the economic recession and the coronavirus hit. Those republican tax cuts failed to deliver. President Obama also had to deal with the economy losing jobs his first year in office due to the Bush economic recession spill over.
The Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts cost the federal government trillions of dollars financed by deficit spending and never produced the results they all predicted. It was trickle down economics that widened the gap in income in-equality that still exist today. The federal governments fiscal house did much better on Clinton and Obama's watch. Reagan came to office promising to balance the federal budget but never came close. And in fact left office as the highest deficit spending administration at the time.
It took the U.S. over 200 years to past an expense budget over $1 trillion. It took place on Reagan's watch in fiscal year 1987. It then took 15 years to reach a $2 trillion spending budget in fiscal year 2002 under President George W. Bush. It took another 7 years to post an expense budget of over $3 trillion under President George W. Bush. It then took 8 years to reach a $4 trillion spending budget under President Trump in his first fiscal year. It then took Trump only two years to post both a $5 and $6 trillion spending budget in his third fiscal year that ended 9/30/20. And he has one more fiscal year to report.
The facts tell us that republican administrations are not only the big spenders in Washington, they are also the big deficit spenders and creators of record debt. Their record on job creation, unemployment, economic recessions and balancing the federal budget has been a disaster. The Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts denied the federal government of needed revenue that was necessary to move America and its people forward. America can be thankful that the Clinton and Obama administrations came between those four republican administrations and put the country back on the right track economically and fiscally. Other wise, no telling where the country would be at today.
And yes my fellow Americans, understanding the mistakes of the past are still the key to a better future. The republicans refused to learn that so the future under their control was like the failed past. And you read it hear first in PolitiDose many times. So stay tuned for your daily dose of political commentary.
Note: Numbers shown in this commentary taken from the historical records of the Congressional Budget Office, White House Office of Management and Budget, The U.S. Labor Department and the Treasury Department. The CBO and White House Budget office uses the term OUTLAYS in place of the words spending but mean the same thing. This commentary uses the words spending because that is the word members of congress usually always use.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
