Stop giving Trump a Free Pass on the Deficit. Don't let him bankrupt us.

(Click to go to action: “Tell the media to stop giving Trump a free pass on the deficit”)

Well, it looks like this Substack note really took off, so I figured it was a good idea to expand on it to elaborate and clarify and to answer some questions folks raised.

“Every republican president in the last 50 years left a bigger annual deficit than the one he inherited. Every democratic president in the last 50 years left a smaller one. republicans suck at the economy.”

As an econ geek, and someone who gives a shit about the country, it warms my heart to see people sharing and spreading this. Bringing down the deficit and debt is critically important if we want to have a future that doesn’t look like an outtake from Mad Max. And that means never again electing a Republican president — because they suck at this. Bigly.

As we wrote in the note:

• “Every republican president elected in the last 50 years left a bigger annual deficit than the one he inherited.” — Go ahead, look at the numbers. Republican presidents consistently leave a higher annual deficit than the one they inherited. They suck at this.

• “Every Democratic president elected in the last 50 years left a smaller one.” Again, look at the numbers. If you want to reduce the deficit, elect Democratic presidents (hell, Clinton even got it to a surplus!)

• Caveats: Presidential terms don’t line up directly with calendar years or fiscal years, and there’s also an argument that a budget passed under a previous president should be that president’s responsibility, even if most of it takes place during the subsequent president’s term (kinda like “earned runs” when a relief pitcher, for all you baseball fans). This makes it trickier to get 100% precise, but doesn’t change the pattern. Also, the COVID pandemic was an extraordinary item that wrought havoc with the economy, and it’s certainly fair to say that Trump shouldn’t get the full blame for it during the latter part of his term, nor Biden during the beginning of his. Even accounting for this, however, the fairest reading of the numbers seems to show Biden bringing down the deficit significantly, but reasonable people can differ.

• “It’s the House that’s responsible for the budget, not the president.” This one popped up a few times, but it’s kinda silly. Yes, it originates in the House, but it’s not like the president is hermetically sealed in an underground cave while House members turn it from bill to law. The president has to sign it. And the president is the only one who can single-handedly nuke it. The buck stops with him.

So yes, Republican presidents consistently increase the deficit, and Democratic presidents consistently bring it down. And if you’re a Republican who can’t handle this truth, then what can I say, stop electing shitty leaders.

(Click to go to action: “Tell the media to stop giving Trump a free pass on the deficit”)