The Republicans are known for fiscal responsibility. Why is that? The last 40 years has shown something different. The reputation must have been built up before President Reagan took office in 1981, because since his term, it has been pretty obvious that there is a wide gulf between the Republicans and the Democrats on spending money with or without much control.
Reagan, (8 years) job generation: 15 million, Government budget: $79 billion deficit to $159 billion deficit
Bush Senior, (4 years) 2 million, $153 Billion deficit to $255 billion deficit
Clinton, 23 million, (8 years), $255 billion deficit to $128 billion surplus
Bush Junior, (8 years), 1.5 million, $128 billion surplus to $1 trillion deficit
Obama, (8 years), 12 million, $1.16 trillion deficit to $585 billion deficit
Trump, (2 years), 6 million, $585 billion deficit to $1.1 trillion deficit
At the rate Trump is going the deficit will continue to grow, much of this because of the tax bill reducing receipts. The CBO also has a projected growth rate of 3.0% per year going forward. In fact it has fallen to 2.0% a year and if tariffs continue or are increased then growth will slow further. Yes the tariffs are bringing in $69 billion a year and this is projected to grow to $100 billion, but some of this is going to pay off the farmers.
Can we put this Republican reputation to rest?