The core philosophy of the Republican party is lower taxes, lower spending, and smaller government. They contrast themselves to the "tax and spend" Democrats, who they say believe in more government services and higher taxes. Which of these philosophies has worked for the American people? Let’s compare the last five presidents and see how they did with spending, debt, GDP, and employment.
Republicans increase spending 23% more than Democrats.
Republicans increase the debt 8.6 times more than Democrats!
Democrats increase GDP 17% more than Republicans.
Democrats increase job creation 2.3 times more than Republicans!
Analysis below the fold
Let us focus on the presidencies of Carter, Reagan, G. Bush, Clinton, and W. Bush. The statistics used for W. Bush are only from the first term, so any bias from the current crisis is removed. However, this analysis covers 28 years and three Republican and two Democratic presidents.
Spending
The big spender in this group is W. Bush, with 18.9% increase in spending. He is closely followed by Carter (17.2) and Reagan’s first term (14.5). Much lower increases were achieved by Clinton, G. Bush, and Reagan’s second term.
The average Republican president increased spending by 12.15%. while the average Democrat increased spending by 9.86%.
% Increase in spending
Bush W.: 18.9
Carter: 17.2
Reagan 1: 14.5
Clinton 2: 8.1
Bush G.: 7.8
Reagan 2: 7.4
Clinton 1: 4.3
Republican average: 12.15%
Democrat average: 9.86%
Republican spending increase is 23% higher than Democrats.
Debt
Both parties are fiercely opposed to the national debt, which has skyrocketed in recent years. Here’ the difference is more obvious, as Reagan increased the debt by 49% and 40.2%, while two of the three Democratic administrations actually reduced the percentage of debt. The average Republican president increased debt by 36.17%, while the average Democrat increased the debt by 4.2%.
% Increase in debt
Reagan 1: 49.0
Reagan 2: 40.2
Bush G.: 32.7
Bush W.: 22.8
Clinton 1: 13.2
Clinton 2: -0.2
Carter: -0.4
Republican average: 36.17
Democrat average: 4.2
Republican increase the debt 8.6 times more than Democrats.
GDP
One of the most important indicators of the health of the economy is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total amount of goods and services sold in the country. Reagan’s second term showed the highest increase, but his two terms together average less than Clinton’s two terms. The Republican average is 10.65%, while the Democrats average 12.5%.
% Increase in GDP
Reagan 2: 15.9
Clinton 1: 14.2
Clinton 2: 14.2
Reagan 1: 11.2
Carter: 9.4
Bush W.: 9.0
Bush G.: 6.5
Republican average: 10.65
Democrat average: 12.5
Democrats increase GDP 17% more than Republicans.
Job Creation
Another key measure of the effectiveness of economic policy is the percentage of payroll expansion – how many jobs are created. Clinton created 21.1% more jobs, with Reagan second with 17.6. Carter created 13.1%, while both Bushes created 2.3%. The Republican average is 7.4%, while the Democratic average is 17.1%.
% Payroll expansion
Clinton: 21.1
Reagan: 17.6
Carter: 13.1
Bush G.: 2.3
Bush W.: 2.3
Republican average: 7.4
Democrat average: 17.1
Democrats increase job creation 2.3 times more than Republicans.
Summary
In these four major measures of the effectiveness of the two parties actual performance on the economy over a period of 28 years and five presidents, the performance of Republican administrations are markedly inferior to that of the Democratic administrations.
Democrats increase the debt 8.6 times less, create 2.3 times more jobs, increase GDP 17% more, and spend 23% less.
The floor is yours.