Rewriting History

I am constantly being told how much fiscal constraint Republicans show. It is a talking point on talk shows; it is what the party is “known” for. I am, quite frankly, sick of hearing these lies. They have been billing themselves as the party of fiscal restraint since the early 1900’s. They want a small government, one that would not interfere in the lives of other people. They preach that they will keep the government and the country out of debt. Lies. The history of the party does not match the rhetoric- and why no one has been able to bring this to a head and make this a talking point is beyond me.
The National debt increased greatly to $260 billion dollar during the FDR years, with the social programs to dig us out of the Great Depression and the build-up to World War Two. This is natural, the country was in a crisis, it would not have emerged from the Depression without a great deal of government spending, although Friedman adherents would differ with me, it is not particularly relevant to my argument. However, after this point, the debt held steady as a percentage of the GDP until 1980. During this period, the House and Senate were controlled by the Democrats who spent according to what was available, while there were no great changes in the way that money was spent no matter if a Republican or Democrat was sitting as President.
In 1980 that changed. The 97th United States Congress had a Democratic House, but a Republican Senate. As we have seen, the United States House is a fairly good representation of the people of this country, while in the Senate a small minority can destroy any kind of legislation. They wield an enormous amount of power that generally can override anything that the House wishes, no matter the sentiment. It was during this time that the first great tax cut was instituted, first of the many that was instituted during the Reagan Presidency (a Republican for those of you that forgot). The ERTA Tax Cut corresponds with the beginning of the end of fiscal prudence being shown in this country. Between 1980 and 1990, the National Debt quadrupled. During this time, yes, various services were cut to the people of the United States. However, the spending did not end. Taxes were cut increasingly, but this did not lead to increased revenue for the United States Government. Is this fiscal responsibility? No. This is not rocket science, it is simple math, in order for an organization like the government to spend money they have to have money to spend. If they are spending money they do not have, then they are going to have to borrow money from elsewhere. If they do this, the debt will increase unless the revenue increases. This all occurred while Republicans controlled both the White House and the Senate. Is this fiscal prudence?
But what about the 1990’s Jacob? What about the 1990’s? The budget was balanced, the spending was decreased, and the entire time Republicans were controlling the House and the Senate. Hm. Interesting thought. Well, if there is a boom occurring in the economy, like the one that was occurring between 1994-1999, what would happen? Well, investment from other countries would increase the revenue in the country. Even with the low taxes, the increase of money that was flowing to technological companies and web companies during that period would increase the amount of money going to the government. Is this because of Republican pressure? No. This is because of a technological bubble, a bubble that usually and did lead to a bust in 2000-2001.
What happened AFTER that? Republicans were in control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency between 2000-2006. During that time the National Debt doubled. Taxes were cut to the wealthy, some services to the poor were cut, but otherwise nothing changed. Spending increased. Is this being fiscally prudent? No. This is teaching the American people a sense of entitlement, one which says you can have all the services you want but you do not have to pay taxes for them, you do not have to do much of anything other than borrow borrow borrow.
The Republicans have given us a delightful legacy of selling horse manure to the American people. They preach being fiscally conservative, cutting taxes, and downsizing the government. What do they actually do? Cut taxes to the wealthy, cut services to the poor, and keep spending like there’s no tomorrow. The size of the government under both Reagan and Bush increased more than it had been previously. Is this being responsible? No. The Republicans are liars, ones that rewrite history as they see fit, and then wrap it up into a nice tight package to sell to the American people. Fiscally conservative? Liars, all of them.