When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?

[Yes_Minister]

When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?

The Republicans had the Congress and the White House from 2017 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007, why didn't they lower the debt in either of those periods?

 

[tshade]

Does it matter???

 

[DrewPaul]

When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?

The Republicans had the Congress and the White House from 2017 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007, why didn't they lower the debt in either of those periods?

Neither side does anything about it except complain about it when they're not in power. However there is little point in actually paying down the debt if the following year they will over spend by another trillion dollars or more. I'm in favor of mandating a balanced budget unless over ridden by 3/4 of congress in time of dire emergency. Initially it would be a shock to the system but eventually the economy would rebound as the US is addressing the hemorrhaging.

 

[DrewPaul]

Does it matter???

It inevitably will matter a great deal.

 

[tshade]

It inevitably will matter a great deal.

They have said that since before I was born------------------just a scare tactic to get votes.....

 

[ttwtt78640]

As long as congress critters enjoy a re-election rate above 90% by not doing so, annual federal deficit spending will continue and likely get worse.

 

[Yes_Minister]

Does it matter???

Sure, if Republicans are going to constantly say we need to reduce debt in opposition and lose interest in debt reduction as soon they get into power, we have to stop treating their calls for debt reduction as a good faith argument.

 

[Mycroft]

When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?​

Nobody in the Uniparty wants to lower the debt.

If they did, they would start with reducing spending.

 

[Yes_Minister]

Neither side does anything about it except complain about it when they're not in power. However there is little point in actually paying down the debt if the following year they will over spend by another trillion dollars or more. I'm in favor of mandating a balanced budget unless over ridden by 3/4 of congress in time of dire emergency. Initially it would be a shock to the system but eventually the economy would rebound as the US is addressing the hemorrhaging.

So what, were all the Republicans who campaigned debt reduction in 2002, 2004 and 2016 liars?

This whole thing seems like a scam, that conservatives will instantly lose interest in debt reduction as soon as a Republican is in the White House:

Rush Limbaugh Abandons Fiscal Conservatism

The pundit heavily criticized President Obama for excessive spending. Now he says it doesn't matter.

reason.com

What Dick Cheney Really Thinks About Deficits

Now he tells us.

www.theatlantic.com

Why weren't there tea party protests during the Trump administration or the majority of the Bush administration?

Isn't there an interesting quote "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,”, conservatives will fail that test every time on this issue.

 

[Yes_Minister]

When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?​

Nobody in the Uniparty wants to lower the debt.

If they did, they would start with reducing spending.

I thought Trump was supposed to different, why didn't he and the Republican Congress do it from 2017 to 2019?

Maybe because this is all a scam?

Rush Limbaugh Abandons Fiscal Conservatism

The pundit heavily criticized President Obama for excessive spending. Now he says it doesn't matter.

reason.com

What Dick Cheney Really Thinks About Deficits

Now he tells us.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Mycroft]

I thought Trump was supposed to different, why didn't he and the Republican Congress do it from 2017 to 2019?

Maybe because this is all a scam?

No.

The Republicans in Congress during Trump's term were solidly Uniparty.

 

[Yes_Minister]

As long as congress critters enjoy a re-election rate above 90% by not doing so, annual federal deficit spending will continue and likely get worse.

So why weren't there tea party protests during the majority of the Bush administration or during the Trump administration?

It's pretty easy to blame this on "Congress critters" and ignore that the conservative base picks these guys in primaries.

Also guys like Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney can admit this is all a scam and the conservative base will do nothing about it:

Rush Limbaugh Abandons Fiscal Conservatism

The pundit heavily criticized President Obama for excessive spending. Now he says it doesn't matter.

reason.com

What Dick Cheney Really Thinks About Deficits

Now he tells us.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Yes_Minister]

No.

The Republicans in Congress during Trump's term were solidly Uniparty.

And yet the Republican base picked those guys in primaries.

Where were the tea party protests during the Trump administration or the majority of the Bush administration?

And let guess, you are going to say Dick Cheney is a RINO or a Uniparty or something else to just hand wave the debt created during the Bush administration as not counting, but about Limbaugh, he said this all a scam too and said debt does not matter when a Republican is President. Was he a RINO or was he a conservative who gave the game away?

 

[LostInSeattle]

When is the last time a Republican President or a Republican Congress actually lowered the debt?​

Nobody in the Uniparty wants to lower the debt.

If they did, they would start with reducing spending.

TOTALLY!!

I mean, remember how much Trump lowered the debt? There so much lowering under Trump!! I want those days back!

 

[OrphanSlug]

Unsure what you guys think you are proving here, other than away from a campaign season Total Debt is irrelevant to Republicans and Democrats.

Does not matter if Republican President with a Republican Congress, Democratic President with a Democratic Congress, or some other split combination I want to say it was fiscal year 1957 where Total Debt was less than the previous fiscal year 1956. And even that year ended up "corrected" to eventually show a slight increase according to the Fed. We got super close in fiscal year 2000 that was only 0.42% higher than 1999, and the only reason Total Debt went up that year was Intergovernmental Debt shot up faster than Debt held by the Public fell entirely because of law governing US Government ran Financial Accounts (like SS.) I want to say that year we did not issue a single 30-year note (or very close.)

But Total Debt going down has not happened in almost 70 years now. Moreover, not a one of you can articulate why US Debt is an issue at whatever level you want to pick. $25 Trillion, $33 Trillion, whatever other number you want, some percentage of total economy size, or otherwise.

So, what are we really talking about other than the occasional hypocrite that claims US Debt is important (right up to the moment it is not,) or the even more occasional flat-out liar that claims they will lower US Debt?

 

[Yes_Minister]

Unsure what you guys think you are proving here, other than away from a campaign season Total Debt is irrelevant to Republicans and Democrats.

Does not matter if Republican President with a Republican Congress, Democratic President with a Democratic Congress, or some other split combination I want to say it was fiscal year 1957 where Total Debt was less than the previous fiscal year 1956. And even that year ended up "corrected" to eventually show a slight increase according to the Fed. We got super close in fiscal year 2000 that was only 0.42% higher than 1999, and the only reason Total Debt went up that year was Intergovernmental Debt shot up faster than Debt held by the Public fell entirely because of law governing US Government ran Financial Accounts (like SS.) I want to say that year we did not issue a single 30-year note (or very close.)

But Total Debt going down has not happened in almost 70 years now. Moreover, not a one of you can articulate why US Debt is an issue at whatever level you want to pick. $25 Trillion, $33 Trillion, whatever other number you want.

So, what are we really talking about other than the occasional hypocrite that claims US Debt is important (right up to the moment it is not,) or the even more occasional flat-out liar that claims they will lower US Debt?

Well my point is conservatives want to claim to be interested in lowering the debt, but will raise it through tax cuts and military spending to justify cuts to social programs. For them debt reduction is a weapon to be used to harm the poor and nothing else:

Blowing Up the Deficit Is Part of the Plan

Republicans are planning to use the deficits created by their own tax cuts to slash the social safety net—but they may end up setting the stage for tax hikes instead.

www.theatlantic.com

They want large debts to use as a weapon to punish poor people.

 

[NolanVoyd]

Neither side does anything about it except complain about it when they're not in power. However there is little point in actually paying down the debt if the following year they will over spend by another trillion dollars or more. I'm in favor of mandating a balanced budget unless over ridden by 3/4 of congress in time of dire emergency. Initially it would be a shock to the system but eventually the economy would rebound as the US is addressing the hemorrhaging.

Republicans actually increase the debt way more than Democrats.

 

[Mycroft]

And yet the Republican base picked those guys in primaries.

The Uniparty is hard to kill.

 

[Exquisitor]

Does it matter???

Yes it matters.

The 2017 tax cut is the whole reason I fired Trump.

Clinton handed over a booming surplus, Bush the Great recession, but, "No progress until we're in charge, no education, no highways, no minimum wage no stitch in time, no more stimulus, "failed stimulus," Trump Trump Trump, let's pass a tax cut same as Bush and expect a different result, quote our numbers off the credit card. Pull Obama out of South America." The tax cut will never pay for itself, wasn't when the pandemic hit. Blame it on Biden when really it was all Trump.

Clever. Clever to win, but not to govern a Country.

 

[Exquisitor]

The Uniparty is hard to kill.

Oh, your sig line is bright Mycroft.

How about, try Democrat?

Repubs be alright with all power to them.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Sure, if Republicans are going to constantly say we need to reduce debt in opposition and lose interest in debt reduction as soon they get into power, we have to stop treating their calls for debt reduction as a good faith argument.

Republicans don't believe it's a good faith argument. It's just something to rile the base up with and gut social programs so their 1% backers get a longer suck at the gubmit teat.

 

[Yes_Minister]

The Uniparty is hard to kill.

Come on man, you can't say you believe in personal responsibility and then try to find million excuses as to why GOP politicians never lower the debt while in power, why conservative media elites will never hold them accountable for it and why the conservative base will never hold conservative politicians and conservative media elites responsible for their actions on this issue.

The conservative base could have held tea party protests during the majority of the Bush administration or the Trump administration, but they didn't, why didn't they? At a certain point, if this issue means so much to the conservative base, they should take more action to hold the party they vote for to account on this issue, instead of doing nothing when a Republican is in the White House.

 

[eman623]

The GOP controlled congress lowered the debt to GDP ratio from 65% to 54% during the years 1995 to 2001.

Which coincidentally is the last time it ever went down, excluding the pandemic years when it spiked from 106% to 130% and then went down to "only" 123% where it is today.

Debt to GDP Ratio Historical Chart

Interactive chart of historical data comparing the level of gross domestic product (GDP) with Federal Debt.

www.macrotrends.net

 

[Yes_Minister]

The GOP controlled congress lowered the debt to GDP ratio from 65% to 54% during the years 1995 to 2001.

Which coincidentally is the last time it ever went down, excluding the pandemic years when it spiked from 106% to 130% and then went down to "only" 123% where it is today.

Debt to GDP Ratio Historical Chart

Interactive chart of historical data comparing the level of gross domestic product (GDP) with Federal Debt.

www.macrotrends.net

Why didn't they lower the debt when a Republican was in the White House in the 2000s and the late 2010s?

Seems like you are arguing that the GOP can only be effective as an opposition party, but can't be effective when in power, why is that?

 

[NolanVoyd]

The GOP controlled congress lowered the debt to GDP ratio from 65% to 54% during the years 1995 to 2001.

Which coincidentally is the last time it ever went down, excluding the pandemic years when it spiked from 106% to 130% and then went down to "only" 123% where it is today.

Debt to GDP Ratio Historical Chart

Interactive chart of historical data comparing the level of gross domestic product (GDP) with Federal Debt.

www.macrotrends.net

Thanks to Bill clinton too right?