WildOak Dec 24, 2019

The debate about who had/has the worst approach to the deficit is an interesting one, if for no other reason it leads to two sides both screwing up and pointing at the other saying, "but they did it, too!". It's childish. It's also difficult, as it can be difficult to compare apples to apples, which leads to further partisan bickering.

The deficit should be a common ground issue - we should all agree that it should be reduced, balanced. The political battle should be over how to do this in a moderate way so as to not disrupt the economy (which would lead to decreased revenue, a need for greater government spending, and a worsening deficit).

Obama did run up the deficit, but he also took over at a time of great economic peril. He also established a trend of a reduced deficit through out the latter part of his two term tenure. When he left office, the economy was solid and the budget was moving in the right direction (towards being balanced).

Trump's tax changes cut revenue, leading to a growing deficit despite a solid economy. And, each year his budget deficit has worsened. The trajectory is bad. Estimates I've seen show that his budget's will likely lead to a similar total increase in the federal deficit by the end of a second term.

Trump has squandered an opportunity to balance the budget, choosing instead to drop tax rates further from an historically low rate. While I agreed with the reduction in the corporate rate, the individual rate should have been left alone and budget cuts, including military, should have been implemented further (we spend more than the next 7 countries in the world combined on the military).

The hypocrisy of Trump and Republicans, who have historically been shrill about a balanced budget, shows either a lack of sincerity, integrity, or both, and arguing "well, Obummer did it, too" just confirms that hypocrisy.