The GOP’s Apostasy And The Demise Of Sound Economics, Part 2

Between the year 2000 and 2021, Federal outlays grew from $1.9 trillion to $7.2 trillion or by 6.5% per annum—a figure far higher than the 4.0% per year growth of GDP during the same 21-year period.

Consequently, Federal outlays soared from 18.6% of GDP in 2000 to 30.7% in 2021. The ghosts of America’s greatest government spenders—FDR and LBJ—were undoubtedly green with envy.

But here’s the thing. Those two great icons of Big Government had the benefit of strong Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress during the 1930s and mid-1960s, respectively.

By contrast, during the 21-year span encompassed by the chart below, the GOP controlled the White House during 12 years or 57% of the time; controlled or tied the Senate during 14 years; and held strong House majorities during 14 years or two-thirds of the time.

As it happened, in fact, there were only four years during that span in which the Dems controlled the White House and both houses of Congress simultaneously, and only then by the slimmest of majorities in the Senate.

So the question recurs. With all those red bottoms planted squarely in the seats of government, how did this massive, unprecedented outbreak of spending occur? Where were the presidential vetoes, Senate filibusters and the noisy GOP blocking majorities in the House?

Indeed, in the long sweep of things, the real damage was done in the Covid/Lockdowns/Stimmies year of 2020. Federal spending erupted by nearly $2 trillion during that year alone, and soared from 22.3% of GDP in 2019 to nearly 32% of GDP in 2020.

When you add in state and local budgets, the government sector that year exceeded 40% of GDP. That is to say, Republican government got us all the way to a European-style social democracy share of the economy in one Trumpian fell swoop.