Posted on 11/26/2016 4:47:43 PM PST by Lorianne
Updated November 21, 2016
What's the best way to determine how much each President contributed to the $19.8 trillion U.S. debt? The most popular method is to start with the debt level when each President took office. It's easier to look at a graph showing the percent of the debt accumulated under each President. It's also important to compare the debt as a percent of economic output.
But these aren't accurate ways to measure the debt created by each President.
Why? The President doesn't have much control over the debt added during his first year in office. That's because the budget for that fiscal year was already set by the previous President.
For example, President Bush took office in January 2001. He submitted his first budget in February. But that was for FY 2002 which didn't begin until October 1. For the first nine months of his new term, Bush had to live with President Clinton's last budget. That was FY 2001, which continued until September 30, 2001. It's why no new President is accountable for the budget deficit in his first year in office. It was created by his predecessor.
Yes, it's confusing. But the Federal fiscal year is set up that way to give the new President time to put together his budget during his first month in office. For more, see Federal Budget Process.
The Best Way to Measure Debt by President
One way to measure the debt by President is to sum all his budget deficits.
That's because the President is responsible for his budget priorities. Each year's deficit takes into account budgeted spending and anticipated revenue from proposed tax cuts or hikes. For details, see Deficit by President and Deficit by Year.
But there's a difference between the deficit and the debt by President.
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Advertisement That's because all Presidents can employ a sleight of hand to reduce the appearance of the deficit. They can borrow internally from other government sources. For example, the Social Security Trust Fund has run a surplus since 1987. That's because there were more working people contributing via payroll taxes than retired people withdrawing benefits. The Fund invests its surplus in U.S. Treasury notes. The President can reduce the deficit by spending these funds instead of issuing new Treasuries
SNIP
Wouldn’t it be crazy rad if, after one giant hiccup, the picture started reversing under Donald Trump???
We’ll see how President Trump does.
No matter how you slice it, Obastard has to be the very worst. Especially after promising MANY times to balance the budget and shrink the debt on his watch.
It surely can’t be any worse than any of our modern presidents (even Ronald with the rayguns he had to buy... for a good reason maybe, but he still did).
So according to this methodology Reagan, 168% increase; is the third worst president in history behind F.D.R., 1048% incease; & Wilson, 727% increase; for physcal responsibility.
This also makes Coolidge the best with a 26% decrease in the National debt.
Reagan bought rayguns. That’s how he showed the Russkys their world domination pursuit was vain, but still we put quite a hunk on the national charge card and made it look OK to keep doing so, by comparison.
I recall one of Obama's budgets that actually got NO votes in Congress.
In fact, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Obama sail through both terms Budget-Free?
Just deem it. Deem it so.
Lost me at, “Obama’s budget included increased defense spending to between $700 billion and $800 billion a year.”
Not sure what he was spending it on unless it was retrofitting bathrooms, paying for leotards, and panty-waste awareness meetings.
The business end of the military sure wasn’t getting it.
Oh, perhaps arming al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and ISIS cost more than I realized.
If no budget is passed the government operates via continuing resolutions.
In the United States, a continuing resolution is a type of appropriations legislation. An appropriations bill is a bill that appropriates (gives to, sets aside for) money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs. The money provides funding for operations, personnel, equipment, and activities.
So, does this mean the 800 billion for shovel ready projects in 2009 got be respent every year since? For a total of over 5 trillion extra.
Iquiring minds want to know.
I think I read that was the case. Nut I could be mistaken.
A stack of one trillion dollar bills is over 6,700 miles high.
That is why baseline budgeting needs to go away. The budget is automatically increased every year. If congress can’t get their job done then there should be no increase.
The problem with the article is that presidential budgets are always dead on submission. This needs to be written from the perspective of who is in power in congress.
Bttt.
Gonna be hard to beat Calvin Coolidge...Mr. Trump would have to do a $1 trillion cut to the budget to go from a $500+ billion budget deficit to a $867 billion budget surplus. A $1 trillion cut would be about a 28.5% budget cut...not sure if there is even 28% in “discretionary” spending in the current budget?
You are both right and wrong.
A dollar bill is .0043 inches thick.
100,000,000 dollar bills would be 6.79 miles tall
1 billion dollars would be 67.9 miles tall
1 trillion dollars would be 67,900 miles tall
Our current national debt of approximately 20 trillion dollars would reach from the Earth to the moon approximately 6 times (1.38 million miles tall)
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