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The Arithmetic – Democrats V Republicans

Republican vs Democrat

(By The Pragmatic Pundit)

Bill Clinton’s convention speech discussion of arithmetic inspired me to rename and repost this information about economic and fiscal performance under Democratic Presidents versus Republican ones.

THE DEBT, DEFICIT AND DEBT CEILING

Debt Reduction

Most government spending occurs automatically, without any action by the Congress or the President.  Since fiscal year 1957, the amount of debt held by the federal government has increased each year.

But Democratic presidents are better at debt reduction.

Balancing the Budget

President Clinton balanced the budget, giving the government a surplus.  Not one single Republican in either house voted for the balanced budget.

Only 5 (five) current Presidents have governed with a surplus.  They were all Democrats!

Recessions and Depressions
Republicans held the presidency at the onset of the last NINE (9) economic downturns, including the two greatest economic collapses in our history.
1. The Great Depression: Herbert Hoover (Republican)
2. Recession of 1953: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
3. Recession of 1957: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
4. Recession of 1960: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) *
5. The Oil Crisis: Richard Nixon (Republican)
6. 1980′s Recession: Ronald Reagan (Republican)
7. 1990 Recession: George H.W. Bush (Republican)
8. 2002 Recession: George W. Bush (Republican)
9. The Second Great Depression: George W. Bush (Republican)The Debt Ceiling

The DEBT CEILINGhas been raised 79 times since 1960; 49 times under Republican presidents and 30 times under Democratic presidents.Under Reagan the debt ceiling was raised 17 times in eight years

Under Bush the debt ceiling was raised 4 times in 4 years
Under Clinton the debt ceiling was raised 4 times in eight years
Under Bush the debt ceiling was raised 7 times in eight years
Under President Obama the debt ceiling has been raised 4 times in 3 years

The Federal Workforce

Reagan expanded government more than any modern-day President.  His was the largest non-military workforce in three decades.  The only president who had a workforce that surpassed Reagan’s was President Johnson’s, during the Vietnam War.  Reagan was in office during peacetime.If we combine the totals for all federal employees, including the military:

Reagan began office with a total of 4,982,000 employees and ended his term with 5,292,000 employees.  President Obama took office with a federal employee roster of 4,430,000 employees.  At the end of 2010 President Obama’s federal workforce numbered  4,443,000; that’s 849,000 fewer employees than Reagan, the advocate of small government!  Add to this the fact that President Reagan governed during peacetime, while President Obama inherited two wars.

*through 2010.  Includes temporary Census workers
Job Creation

When it comes to job creation, the Democrats again do a better job than Republicans.
From the U.S. Department of Labor;  data is listed from the best to the worst:

Unemployment Rates
Clearly Democratic Presidents create more jobs per year than Republican presidents.  Unemployment rates are higher under Republicans….it’s just a fact.
Johnson 1966-1969  average unemployment rate of 3.7%.

Clinton 1994-2001 average unemployment rate of 4.9%.
Kennedy 1962-1965 average unemployment rate of 5.2%.
Nixon 1970-1977 average unemployment rate of 6.3%.
Bush 1990-1993 average unemployment rate of 6.7%.
Carter 1978-1981  average unemployment rate of 6.7%.
Reagan 1982-1989  average unemployment rate of  7.3%.

Note:  In most cases I have not listed numbers and percentages for President Obama because agencies take so long to formulate the numbers, I found I was unable to verify any of the figures.

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