No. Reagan had a huge military budget because he was forced to modernize the military (which had suffered under the previous administration). Clinton's spending was reigned in by a GOP controlled congress. Also, because the economy was so big at that time, less government spending was needed (and since it was a great economy, a lesser percentage of GDP was still a lot of cash). We were also at peace.
Ah. So you can't interpret the chart without a whole lot of external context. Such as the fact that Obama inherited 2 disastrous money-pit wars and the worst economic recession since the Depression which would make even a large percentage of the GDP a comparably small number.
So Obama is most like Reagan, and Clinton was the most fiscally responsible of them all. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteNo. Reagan had a huge military budget because he was forced to modernize the military (which had suffered under the previous administration). Clinton's spending was reigned in by a GOP controlled congress. Also, because the economy was so big at that time, less government spending was needed (and since it was a great economy, a lesser percentage of GDP was still a lot of cash). We were also at peace.
ReplyDeleteAh. So you can't interpret the chart without a whole lot of external context. Such as the fact that Obama inherited 2 disastrous money-pit wars and the worst economic recession since the Depression which would make even a large percentage of the GDP a comparably small number.
ReplyDeleteI'd say its pretty meaningless overall.