U.S. Senator Joe Manchin Declared His Ignorance On the Federal Budget With His Latest Quoted Statement.

THOSE WHO SERVE IN CONGRESS SHOULD HAVE A KNOWLEDGE OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET FOR REASONS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUS THEY NEED NOT BE REPEATED HERE. YET, sENATOR MANCHIN DISPLAYED HIS IGNORANCE ON THE SUBJECT WHEN HE SAID THE PRESIDENT'S $3.5 TRILLION LEGISLATION WAS "FISCAL INSANITY." IF MANCHIN KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT THE FEDERAL BUDGET HE WOULD KNOW THAT THOSE WORDS ACTUALLY DESCRIBE THE GOP'S RECORD FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS AND DOES NOT APPLY TO BIDEN'S PROPOSAL OR THE DEMOCRATIC RECORD. LETS EXAMINE THE FISCAL FACTS FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS THAT COVER THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF REAGAN, BUSH 41, CLINTON, BUSH 43, OBAMA AND TRUMP. THE FISCAL FACTS ARE TAKEN FROM THE OFFICIAL BUDGET REPORTS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET AND THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT WHO RECORD AND KEEP THE FISCAL FACTS AND ARE AVAILABLE ON LINE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE. THE BELOW NUMERS COVER EACH ADMINISTRATIONS FISCAL YEARS WHICH BEGIN ON OCTOBER 1 AND END ON SEPTEMBER 30. TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING, WHICH THE AGENCIES CALL "OUTLAYS" ON THEIR REPORTS FOR THOSE 6 PRESIDENTS WERE AS FOLLOWS: TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR REAGANS 8 FISCAL YEARS WAS UP 75%. 50% IN HIS FIRST TERM COMPARED TO CARTERS 4 YEARS AND 25% IN HIS SECOND TERM OVER HIS FIRST TERM. TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S 4 FISCAL YEARS WAS UP 28% OVER REAGAN'S LAST TERM. TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR CLINTON'S 8 FISCAL YEARS WAS UP 28%. 14% IN HIS FIRST TERM OVER BUSH'S LAST TERM AND 14% IN HIS SECOND TERM OVER HIS FIRST TERM. (THE MOST EVENLY INCEASE OF ALL PRESIDENTS IN THE PAST 40 YEARS) TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR GEORGE W. BUSH'S 8 FISCAL YEARS WAS UP 61%. IT WAS UP 28% IN HIS FIRST TERM OVER PRESIDENT CLINTON'S LAST TERM AND 33% OVER HIS FIRST TERM. TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR BARRACK OBAMA'S 8 FISCAL YEARS WAS UP 25%. IT WAS UP 18% IN HIS FIRST TERM OVER BUSH'S LAST TERM AND 7% OVER HIS FIRST TERM. TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING FOR DONALD TRUMP HAS ONLY BEEN RECORDED FOR TRUMP'S FIRST THREE FISCAL YEARS AND FEDERAL SPENDING FOR THOSE THREE YEARS COMPARED TO OBAMA'S FIRST THREE FISCAL YEARS OF HIS SECOND TERM WAS UP 30%. SO WHEN THE FINAL NUMBERS COMES OUT FOR TRUMPS LAST FISCAL YEAR SPENDING THAT 30% INCREASE WILL BE INCREASED. SO TOTAL FEDERAL SPENDING UNDER CLINTON AND OBAMA INCREASED AT A MUCH SLOWER RATE THAN THE 4 OTHER GOP PRESIDENTS BY A WIDE MARGIN. DEFICIT SPENDING: EVERY DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT IN THE LAST 60 YEARS HAS COMPLETED HIS LAST FISCAL YEAR IN OFFICE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRESIDENT CARTER WITH A SMALLER FEDERAL DEFICIT THAN WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE, BUT EVERY GOP PRESIDENT DURING THAT SAME PERIOD LEFT OFFICE WITH A HIGHER FEDERAL DEFICIT AT THE END OF HIS LAST FISCAL YEAR THAN WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE. PRESIDENT CLINTON BALANCED THE BUDGET ALL 4 YEARS OF HIS SECOND TERM AND REDUCED DEFICIT SPENDING EVERY YEAR OF HIS FIRST TERM. NO GOP PRESIDENT HAS DONE THE SAME. NO GOP PRESIDENT HAS BALANCED THE FEDERAL BUDGET SINCE EISENHOWER IN 1960, BUT TWO DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS, LYNDON JOHNSON AND BILL CLINTON BALANCED THE FEDERAL BUDGET 5 TIMES IN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD. JOHNSON BALANCED THE BUDGET IN 1969. THE NATIONAL DEBT: THE NATIONAL DEBT INCREASED 186% IN REAGAN'S 8 FISCAL YEARS IT INCREASED 54% IN GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S 4 FISCAL YEARS IT INCREASED 31% IN CLINTON'S 8 FISCAL YEARS IT INCREASED 105% IN GEORGE W. BUSH'S 8 FISCAL YEARS IT INCREASED 70%IN OBAMA'S 8 FISCAL YEARS IT INCREASED 39% AS OF 3/18/21 ON TRUMP'S WATCH AND WILL INCREASE MORE AS THE FINAL NUMBER COMES IN. THE LARGEST SINGLE FISCAL YEAR DEFICITS TOOK PLACE ON PRESIDENT BUSH 43 WATCH IN HIS LAST FISCAL YEAR BUDGET OF 9/30/09 AT $1.4 TRILLION. TRUMP'S THIRD FISCAL YEAR WHICH ENDED 9/30/20 ENDED WITH A RECORD $3.1 TRILLION AND WHEN HIS LAST FISCAL YEAR BUDGET COMES IN FOR FISCAL 9/30/21 THE DEFICIT WILL BE APPROXIMATELY $2 TRILLION WHEN THE NUMBERS ARE REPORTED. RONALD REAGAN WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT EVER TO HAVE A $1 TRILLION SPENDING BUDGET. GEORGE W. BUSH WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO HAVE A $2 AND $3 TRILLION SPENDING BUDGET AND PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO HAVE A $4, $5 AND $6 TRILLION SPENDING BUDGET. PRESIDENT CLINTON STAYED WITHIN THE $1 TRILLION OF SPENDING DURING HIS 8 FISCAL YEARS AND PRESIDENT OBAMA STAYED WITHIN THE $3 TRILLION RANGE HE INHERITED FROM BUSH. THE FISCAL NUMBERS TELL THE STORY OF A FISCALLY SANE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND FISCAL INSANITY DURING THOSE 4 GOP ADMINISTRATIONS. AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THE NATIONAL DEBT TODAY WOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM IF REAGAN, BUSH 41 AND BUSH 43 HAD BALANCED THE FEDERAL BUDGET AS CLINTON DID. THE BUSH 43 ADMINISTRATION BLEW UP THE FISCAL SANITY OF THE CLINTON YEARS IN BUSH'S VERY FIRST FISCAL YEAR WHEN HE RETURNED THE COUNTRY TO DEFICIT SPENDING THAT LASTED THROUGH HIS 8 FISCAL YEARS. THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ALSO PAID DOWN OVER $400 BILLION IN THE NATIONAL DEBT. THE GOP PAID DOWN NOTHING, ZERO. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT THOSE 4 GOP PRESIDENTS PRESIDED OVER AN ECONOMIC RECESSION THAT BEGAN ON THEIR WATCH DESPITE THE TAX CUTS BY REAGAN, BUSH 43 AND TRUMP. NO ECONOMIC RECESSIONS BEGAN ON CLINTON OR OBAMA'S WATCH AND CLINTON RAISED TAXES ON THOSE SAME FOLKS WHO RECEIVED THE THREE GOP TAX CUTS AND OBAMA ALLOWED THE BUSH TAX CUTS TO EXPIRE FOR THOSE MAKING OVER $550,000.00 A YEAR. AND CLINTON CREATED MORE JOBS IN 8 YEARS THAN REAGAN, BUSH 41, BUSH 43 AND TRUMP CREATED IN THE 24 YEARS THEY SERVED. MANCHIN USES THE SAME MIS-LEADING STATEMENTS AND LIES OF THE GOP IN TRYING TO DESCRIBE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS THE BIG SPENDING PARTY BUT THE RECORD INDICATES OTHERWISE. SENATOR MANCHIN'S OPPOSITION WITH HIS STATED WORDS CONCERNING BIDEN'S $3.5 TRILLION LEGISLATION IS HOGWASH AND A EXCUSE FOR HIS REAL MOTIVES. hIS IGNORANCE OF BUDGET FACTS THE PAST 40 YEARS SAYS IT ALL ABOUT HIS QUALIFICATIONS TO SERVE AS A U.S. SENATOR. BEING OBJECTIVE IS NOT A PART OF GOVERNING FOR THE SENATOR. DEMOCRATIC "FISCAL INSANITY?" FACTS TELL US IT DOES NOT EXIST. BUT THE FACTS DO TELL THE STORY OF A REPUBLICAN PARTY THAT HAS GOVERNED WITH "FISCAL INSANITY" FOR TOO MANY YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG THE THE LAST 4 YEARS UNDER TRUMP AND THE GOP. AND THAT REALLY SAYS IT ALL. THIS COMMENTARY WRITTEN BY JOE LORIO NOTE: BIDEN'S $3.5 TRILLION BUILD BACK BETTER LEGISLATION IS PAID FOR OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD WHICH MAKES GOOD BUDGET SENSE AND PROVIDES FOR LONG TERM GROWTH.