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Who controls spending? Especially on transfer programs, which represent the bulk of the deficit? (It’s not the president)

http://goliards.us/adelphi/deficits/index.html is more useful. It shows party control of the presidency, house, and senate and deficits each year, not just at end of term.

Looks like the ideal for deficit control is to have a democratic president and republican control of both houses of Congress. Unified government by either party leads to less constraint on spending.




If Democrats make up half the team that you claim is most effective at limiting deficits, it would seem to me to be difficult to sustain the argument that Democrats don't care about them.


Look at the data on deficits linked above.

This seems to be the pattern:

Republican president: spend on this!

  Republican congress: OK

  Democratic congress: OK, as long as we spend on this, too.
Democratic president: spend on this!

  Democratic congress: OK

  Republican congress: No, deficits are important.




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