By Chrissy the Hyphenated
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Federal spending bills must be passed by both the House and the Senate, then signed by the President. Therefore, it is fair to say that the party that controls two or three of these three bodies “owns” the results of federal spending. And this includes the federal debt.
- From 1981-1989, Republicans controlled the Senate and the White House under Republican President Reagan. Average annual increase in the federal debt (in 2011 dollars) = $331.96 billion/yr.
- From 1989-1994, Democrats controlled the House and Senate for four years under Republican President Bush (41) then for two more years under Democratic President Clinton. Average annual increase in the federal debt (in 2011 dollars) = $324.62 billion/yr.
- 1995-2006: Republicans controlled the House and Senate for six years under Democratic President Clinton, then for another six years under Republican President Bush (43). Average annual increase in the federal debt (in 2011 dollars) = $198.29 billion/yr.
- 2007-Present: Democrats controlled the House and the Senate for two years under Republican President Bush (43) and two years under Democratic President Obama. Republicans won the House, depriving Democrats of their hat trick for 2011-2012, but Democrats still control the Senate and the White House. Average annual increase in the federal debt (in 2011 dollars) = $1,022.53 billion/yr.
The saying, “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the parties” was pretty much true for the 14 year period between 1981 to 1994.
- Republicans avg increase: $331.96 billion/yr.
- Democrats avg increase: $324.62 billion/yr.
But there has been FAR MORE than a dime’s worth of difference between the parties for the 17 years between 1995 and 2010 … like $824 billion dollars per year difference!
Republicans avg increase: $ 198.29 billion/yr.
Democrats avg increase: $1,022.53 billion/yr.
(NOTE: Without correcting for inflation, Democrats look even worse with $910 billion per year higher spending than Republicans.)
For fair comparison purposes, I converted the actual dollars into 2011 dollars, then subtracted the beginning from the ending to get the change, then divided that by the number of years to get the average annual increases. Here are my figures and sources, if anyone cares to check my math! Please let me know if I goofed. I went over everything 3 times, but you never know what kind of Senior Moments may hve occurred! 🙂
Actual numbers: In 2011 dollars
End of 1980: $ 930.21 billion $2,550.42 billion
End of 1989: $ 2,857.43 billion $5,206.10 billion
8 years under Republicans:
Increase in federal debt = $1,927.22 billion $2,655.68 billion
Average annual increase = $240.90 billion/yr $331.96 billion/yr
End of 1989: $ 2,857.43 billion $5,206.10 billion
End of 1994: $7,153.82 billion $7,153.82 billion
6 years under Democrats:
Increase in federal debt = $1,835.32 billion $1,947.72 billion
Average annual increase = $ 305.89 billion/yr $324.62 billion/yr
End of 1994: $4,692.75 billion $7,153.82 billion
End of 2006: $8,506.97 billion $9,533.29 billion
12 years under Republicans:
Increase in federal debt = $3,814.22 billion $2,379.47 billion
Average annual increase = $317.85 billion/yr $198.29 billion/yr
End of 2006: $8,506.97 billion $9,533.29 billion
August 24, 2011: $14,645.93 billion $14,645.93 billion
5 years under Democrats:
Increase in federal debt = $6,138.96 $ 5,112.64 billion
Average annual increase = $1,227.79 billion/yr $1,022.53 billion/yr
Sources:
http://130.94.230.21/debt_history.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_U.S._public_debt
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
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