The government is fiscally irresponsible fundamentally because the rich have successfully lobbied to prevent taxes from being collectible in sufficient quantity to balance the budget. Once you're at the point where the gap cannot politically be closed - "responsible" budgeting is just an exercise in posturing and lobbying exercises.

> The current interest on our national debt is greater than our military spending.

For quite some time, my mortgage interest was larger than my principal.

That didn’t make it fiscally irresponsible.

It's crazy how in 1992 the US federal deficit was 4% of GDP

During Clintons term this turned around to being a 2.3% surplus in 2000. Just 25 years ago the US was spending less than it was taking in tax.

The Bush came in and that surplus became a 3.3% deficit by 2003, and then the GFC crashed it to 9.8%.

While Obama was in, it crawled back from 9.8% deficit to 3.1% by 2016 - same value as before the GFC

Since then it's gone back to 6% of GDP

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S

Are you telling us that the party of golden ballrooms... err.. fiscal responsibility is not actually being fiscally responsible?

You tell me. It's not like the other party is doing better. California is posting a $18 billion deficit next year, despite the highest taxes in the country, and despite record tax revenue from the AI boom.

They had a $97.5 billion surplus in 2022. Seems like they're doing better overall than the Feds?

Even the $18B ($450/capita) vs $1.8T ($5,300/capita) looks pretty small for a state that large.

Clinton and Obama seem very different results to Reagan/BushI and BushII

Odd that.

That’s pretty standard for economists.

When Trump did the whole tax cut thing in 2017, it massively blew up the national debt. This is because the rich got massive tax cuts.

The government is fiscally irresponsible by design, because the government is ran by the plutocrats with all the incentives to give themselves more money at the cost of everyone else.