putting deficit spending in context...by the numbers...

[MORTARDUDE]

What follows are the budget figures from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget...4/pdf/hist.pdf

These are the actual inflow and outflow from 1789 to the present day...

You will note that the $ 5 trillion + debt has been accumulating since 1850 ( 153 years ! )...and that from 1901 - 2002,
there have been 31 years with surpluses and 71 years with deficits...Also note that from 1954 - 1994, the Democratic Party controlled Congress and they are the only ones that can "spend any money". During that period there were only 4 years with surpluses and 36 with deficits.

Another interesting "fact" is that every 10 years from 1960 - 2000,
the amount of tax money coming in has doubled or more ( 100%+ ), no matter if there were tax cuts ( JFK did it as well as Reagan and Bush ), inflation ( remember 1979 ), war ( Vietnam from 1963 - 1972 ), and all the rest.....

The numbers on the far right are "off budget" items consisting of the Social Security "trust funds", which are just IOUs...

draw your own conclusions...mine are that the government taxes us too much, wastes too much money and still grows like a giant
mushroom every 10 years and doubles in size...

( there is some good info at the bottom about the composition of the debt...this is a great resource... )

Larry




21 THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004, HISTORICAL TABLES
Table 1.1?SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS, OUTLAYS, AND SURPLUSES OR DEFICITS(?): 1789?2008
(in millions of dollars)
Year
Total On-Budget Off-Budget
Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?) Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?) Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?)
1789?1849 .................................................. ................... 1,160 1,090 70 1,160 1,090 70 .................. .................. ..................
1850?1900 .................................................. ................... 14,462 15,453 ?991 14,462 15,453 ?991 .................. .................. ..................
1901 .................................................. ............................. 588 525 63 588 525 63 .................. .................. ..................
1902 .................................................. ............................. 562 485 77 562 485 77 .................. .................. ..................
1903 .................................................. ............................. 562 517 45 562 517 45 .................. .................. ..................
1904 .................................................. ............................. 541 584 ?43 541 584 ?43 .................. .................. ..................
1905 .................................................. ............................. 544 567 ?23 544 567 ?23 .................. .................. ..................
1906 .................................................. ............................. 595 570 25 595 570 25 .................. .................. ..................
1907 .................................................. ............................. 666 579 87 666 579 87 .................. .................. ..................
1908 .................................................. ............................. 602 659 ?57 602 659 ?57 .................. .................. ..................
1909 .................................................. ............................. 604 694 ?89 604 694 ?89 .................. .................. ..................
1910 .................................................. ............................. 676 694 ?18 676 694 ?18 .................. .................. ..................
1911 .................................................. ............................. 702 691 11 702 691 11 .................. .................. ..................
1912 .................................................. ............................. 693 690 3 693 690 3 .................. .................. ..................
1913 .................................................. ............................. 714 715 ?* 714 715 ?* .................. .................. ..................
1914 .................................................. ............................. 725 726 ?* 725 726 ?* .................. .................. ..................
1915 .................................................. ............................. 683 746 ?63 683 746 ?63 .................. .................. ..................
1916 .................................................. ............................. 761 713 48 761 713 48 .................. .................. ..................
1917 .................................................. ............................. 1,101 1,954 ?853 1,101 1,954 ?853 .................. .................. ..................
1918 .................................................. ............................. 3,645 12,677 ?9,032 3,645 12,677 ?9,032 .................. .................. ..................
1919 .................................................. ............................. 5,130 18,493 ?13,363 5,130 18,493 ?13,363 .................. .................. ..................
1920 .................................................. ............................. 6,649 6,358 291 6,649 6,358 291 .................. .................. ..................
1921 .................................................. ............................. 5,571 5,062 509 5,571 5,062 509 .................. .................. ..................
1922 .................................................. ............................. 4,026 3,289 736 4,026 3,289 736 .................. .................. ..................
1923 .................................................. ............................. 3,853 3,140 713 3,853 3,140 713 .................. .................. ..................
1924 .................................................. ............................. 3,871 2,908 963 3,871 2,908 963 .................. .................. ..................
1925 .................................................. ............................. 3,641 2,924 717 3,641 2,924 717 .................. .................. ..................
1926 .................................................. ............................. 3,795 2,930 865 3,795 2,930 865 .................. .................. ..................
1927 .................................................. ............................. 4,013 2,857 1,155 4,013 2,857 1,155 .................. .................. ..................
1928 .................................................. ............................. 3,900 2,961 939 3,900 2,961 939 .................. .................. ..................
1929 .................................................. ............................. 3,862 3,127 734 3,862 3,127 734 .................. .................. ..................
1930 .................................................. ............................. 4,058 3,320 738 4,058 3,320 738 .................. .................. ..................
1931 .................................................. ............................. 3,116 3,577 ?462 3,116 3,577 ?462 .................. .................. ..................
1932 .................................................. ............................. 1,924 4,659 ?2,735 1,924 4,659 ?2,735 .................. .................. ..................
1933 .................................................. ............................. 1,997 4,598 ?2,602 1,997 4,598 ?2,602 .................. .................. ..................
1934 .................................................. ............................. 2,955 6,541 ?3,586 2,955 6,541 ?3,586 .................. .................. ..................
1935 .................................................. ............................. 3,609 6,412 ?2,803 3,609 6,412 ?2,803 .................. .................. ..................
1936 .................................................. ............................. 3,923 8,228 ?4,304 3,923 8,228 ?4,304 .................. .................. ..................
1937 .................................................. ............................. 5,387 7,580 ?2,193 5,122 7,582 ?2,460 265 ?2 267
1938 .................................................. ............................. 6,751 6,840 ?89 6,364 6,850 ?486 387 ?10 397
1939 .................................................. ............................. 6,295 9,141 ?2,846 5,792 9,154 ?3,362 503 ?13 516
1940 .................................................. ............................. 6,548 9,468 ?2,920 5,998 9,482 ?3,484 550 ?14 564
1941 .................................................. ............................. 8,712 13,653 ?4,941 8,024 13,618 ?5,594 688 35 653
1942 .................................................. ............................. 14,634 35,137 ?20,503 13,738 35,071 ?21,333 896 66 830
1943 .................................................. ............................. 24,001 78,555 ?54,554 22,871 78,466 ?55,595 1,130 89 1,041
1944 .................................................. ............................. 43,747 91,304 ?47,557 42,455 91,190 ?48,735 1,292 114 1,178
1945 .................................................. ............................. 45,159 92,712 ?47,553 43,849 92,569 ?48,720 1,310 143 1,167
1946 .................................................. ............................. 39,296 55,232 ?15,936 38,057 55,022 ?16,964 1,238 210 1,028
1947 .................................................. ............................. 38,514 34,496 4,018 37,055 34,193 2,861 1,459 303 1,157
1948 .................................................. ............................. 41,560 29,764 11,796 39,944 29,396 10,548 1,616 368 1,248
1949 .................................................. ............................. 39,415 38,835 580 37,724 38,408 ?684 1,690 427 1,263
1950 .................................................. ............................. 39,443 42,562 ?3,119 37,336 42,038 ?4,702 2,106 524 1,583
1951 .................................................. ............................. 51,616 45,514 6,102 48,496 44,237 4,259 3,120 1,277 1,843
1952 .................................................. ............................. 66,167 67,686 ?1,519 62,573 65,956 ?3,383 3,594 1,730 1,864
1953 .................................................. ............................. 69,608 76,101 ?6,493 65,511 73,771 ?8,259 4,097 2,330 1,766
1954 .................................................. ............................. 69,701 70,855 ?1,154 65,112 67,943 ?2,831 4,589 2,912 1,677
See footnote at end of table.


22 THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004, HISTORICAL TABLES
Table 1.1?SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS, OUTLAYS, AND SURPLUSES OR DEFICITS(?): 1789?2008?Continued
(in millions of dollars)
Year
Total On-Budget Off-Budget
Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?) Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?) Receipts Outlays Surplus or
Deficit (?)
1955 .................................................. ............................. 65,451 68,444 ?2,993 60,370 64,461 ?4,091 5,081 3,983 1,098
1956 .................................................. ............................. 74,587 70,640 3,947 68,162 65,668 2,494 6,425 4,972 1,452
1957 .................................................. ............................. 79,990 76,578 3,412 73,201 70,562 2,639 6,789 6,016 773
1958 .................................................. ............................. 79,636 82,405 ?2,769 71,587 74,902 ?3,315 8,049 7,503 546
1959 .................................................. ............................. 79,249 92,098 ?12,849 70,953 83,102 ?12,149 8,296 8,996 ?700
1960 .................................................. ............................. 92,492 92,191 301 81,851 81,341 510 10,641 10,850 ?209
1961 .................................................. ............................. 94,388 97,723 ?3,335 82,279 86,046 ?3,766 12,109 11,677 431
1962 .................................................. ............................. 99,676 106,821 ?7,146 87,405 93,286 ?5,881 12,271 13,535 ?1,265
1963 .................................................. ............................. 106,560 111,316 ?4,756 92,385 96,352 ?3,966 14,175 14,964 ?789
1964 .................................................. ............................. 112,613 118,528 ?5,915 96,248 102,794 ?6,546 16,366 15,734 632
1965 .................................................. ............................. 116,817 118,228 ?1,411 100,094 101,699 ?1,605 16,723 16,529 194
1966 .................................................. ............................. 130,835 134,532 ?3,698 111,749 114,817 ?3,068 19,085 19,715 ?630
1967 .................................................. ............................. 148,822 157,464 ?8,643 124,420 137,040 ?12,620 24,401 20,424 3,978
1968 .................................................. ............................. 152,973 178,134 ?25,161 128,056 155,798 ?27,742 24,917 22,336 2,581
1969 .................................................. ............................. 186,882 183,640 3,242 157,928 158,436 ?507 28,953 25,204 3,749
1970 .................................................. ............................. 192,807 195,649 ?2,842 159,348 168,042 ?8,694 33,459 27,607 5,852
1971 .................................................. ............................. 187,139 210,172 ?23,033 151,294 177,346 ?26,052 35,845 32,826 3,019
1972 .................................................. ............................. 207,309 230,681 ?23,373 167,402 193,824 ?26,423 39,907 36,857 3,050
1973 .................................................. ............................. 230,799 245,707 ?14,908 184,715 200,118 ?15,403 46,084 45,589 495
1974 .................................................. ............................. 263,224 269,359 ?6,135 209,299 217,270 ?7,971 53,925 52,089 1,836
1975 .................................................. ............................. 279,090 332,332 ?53,242 216,633 271,892 ?55,260 62,458 60,440 2,018
1976 .................................................. ............................. 298,060 371,792 ?73,732 231,671 302,183 ?70,512 66,389 69,609 ?3,220
TQ .................................................. ................................ 81,232 95,975 ?14,744 63,216 76,555 ?13,339 18,016 19,421 ?1,405
1977 .................................................. ............................. 355,559 409,218 ?53,659 278,741 328,502 ?49,760 76,817 80,716 ?3,899
1978 .................................................. ............................. 399,561 458,746 ?59,185 314,169 369,089 ?54,919 85,391 89,657 ?4,266
1979 .................................................. ............................. 463,302 504,028 ?40,726 365,309 404,051 ?38,742 97,994 99,978 ?1,984
1980 .................................................. ............................. 517,112 590,941 ?73,830 403,903 476,613 ?72,710 113,209 114,329 ?1,120
1981 .................................................. ............................. 599,272 678,241 ?78,968 469,097 543,044 ?73,948 130,176 135,196 ?5,020
1982 .................................................. ............................. 617,766 745,743 ?127,977 474,299 594,339 ?120,040 143,467 151,404 ?7,937
1983 .................................................. ............................. 600,562 808,364 ?207,802 453,242 661,256 ?208,014 147,320 147,108 212
1984 .................................................. ............................. 666,486 851,853 ?185,367 500,411 686,040 ?185,629 166,075 165,813 262
1985 .................................................. ............................. 734,088 946,396 ?212,308 547,918 769,589 ?221,671 186,171 176,807 9,363
1986 .................................................. ............................. 769,215 990,430 ?221,215 568,986 806,932 ?237,946 200,228 183,498 16,731
1987 .................................................. ............................. 854,353 1,004,082 ?149,728 640,951 810,249 ?169,298 213,402 193,832 19,570
1988 .................................................. ............................. 909,303 1,064,455 ?155,152 667,812 861,763 ?193,951 241,491 202,691 38,800
1989 .................................................. ............................. 991,190 1,143,646 ?152,456 727,525 932,735 ?205,210 263,666 210,911 52,754
1990 .................................................. ............................. 1,031,969 1,253,165 ?221,195 750,314 1,028,099 ?277,786 281,656 225,065 56,590
1991 .................................................. ............................. 1,055,041 1,324,369 ?269,328 761,157 1,082,682 ?321,525 293,885 241,687 52,198
1992 .................................................. ............................. 1,091,279 1,381,655 ?290,376 788,853 1,129,316 ?340,463 302,426 252,339 50,087
1993 .................................................. ............................. 1,154,401 1,409,489 ?255,087 842,467 1,142,902 ?300,434 311,934 266,587 45,347
1994 .................................................. ............................. 1,258,627 1,461,877 ?203,250 923,601 1,182,505 ?258,904 335,026 279,372 55,654
1995 .................................................. ............................. 1,351,830 1,515,802 ?163,972 1,000,751 1,227,138 ?226,387 351,079 288,664 62,415
1996 .................................................. ............................. 1,453,062 1,560,535 ?107,473 1,085,570 1,259,631 ?174,061 367,492 300,904 66,588
1997 .................................................. ............................. 1,579,292 1,601,250 ?21,958 1,187,302 1,290,624 ?103,322 391,990 310,626 81,364
1998 .................................................. ............................. 1,721,798 1,652,585 69,213 1,305,999 1,335,981 ?29,982 415,799 316,604 99,195
1999 .................................................. ............................. 1,827,454 1,701,891 125,563 1,382,986 1,381,113 1,873 444,468 320,778 123,690
2000 .................................................. ............................. 2,025,218 1,788,773 236,445 1,544,634 1,458,008 86,626 480,584 330,765 149,819
2001 .................................................. ............................. 1,991,194 1,863,895 127,299 1,483,675 1,517,057 ?33,382 507,519 346,838 160,681
2002 .................................................. ............................. 1,853,173 2,010,975 ?157,802 1,337,852 1,655,313 ?317,461 515,321 355,662 159,659
2003 estimate .................................................. .............. 1,836,218 2,140,377 ?304,159 1,304,653 1,772,280 ?467,627 531,565 368,097 163,468
2004 estimate .................................................. .............. 1,922,025 2,229,425 ?307,400 1,365,857 1,847,924 ?482,067 556,168 381,501 174,667
2005 estimate .................................................. .............. 2,135,188 2,343,399 ?208,211 1,545,685 1,953,094 ?407,409 589,503 390,305 199,198
2006 estimate .................................................. .............. 2,263,159 2,463,663 ?200,504 1,648,387 2,060,069 ?411,682 614,772 403,594 211,178
2007 estimate .................................................. .............. 2,398,054 2,576,203 ?178,149 1,753,610 2,159,697 ?406,087 644,444 416,506 227,938
2008 estimate .................................................. .............. 2,520,923 2,710,517 ?189,594 1,847,731 2,280,416 ?432,685 673,192 430,101 243,091
* $500 thousand or less.
Note: Budget figures prior to 1933 are based on the ??Administrative Budget?? concepts rather than the ??Unified Budget?? concepts.
1.1, except for periods of war (when spending
for defense increased sharply), depressions
or other economic downturns (when receipts
fell precipitously), the Federal budget was
generally in surplus throughout most of the
Nation?s first 200 years. For our first 60
years as a Nation (through 1849), cumulative
budget surpluses and deficits yielded a net
surplus of $70 million. The Civil War, along
with the Spanish-American War and the
depression of the 1890s, resulted in a cumu-lative
deficit totaling just under $1 billion
during the 1850?1900 period. Between 1901
and 1916, the budget hovered very close
to balance every year. World War I brought
large deficits that totaled $23 billion over
the 1917?1919 period. The budget was then
in surplus throughout the 1920s. However,
the combination of the Great Depression
followed by World War II resulted in a
long, unbroken string of deficits that were
historically unprecedented in magnitude. As
a result, Federal debt held by the public
mushroomed from less than $3 billion in
1917 to $16 billion in 1930 and then to
$242 billion by 1946. In relation to the
size of the economy, debt held by the public
grew from 16% of GDP in 1930 to 109%
in 1946.
During much of the postwar period, this
same pattern persisted?large deficits were
incurred only in time of war (e.g., Korea
and Vietnam) or as a result of recessions.
As shown in Table 1.2, prior to the 1980s,
postwar deficits as a percent of GDP reached
their highest during the 1975?76 recession
The traditional pattern of running large
deficits only in times of war or economic
downturns was broken during much of the
1980s. In 1982, partly in response to a
recession, large tax cuts were enacted. How-ever,
these were accompanied by substantial
increases in defense spending. Although reduc-tions
were made to nondefense spending,
they were not sufficient to offset the impact
on the deficit. As a result, deficits averaging
$207 billion were incurred between 1983
and 1992. These unprecedented peacetime
deficits increased debt held by the public
from $789 billion in 1981 to $3.0 trillion
(48.2% of GDP) in 1992.
After peaking at $290 billion in 1992,
deficits declined each year, dropping to a
level of $22 billion in 1997. In 1998, the
Nation recorded its first budget surplus ($69.2
billion) since 1969. As a percent of GDP,
the budget bottom line went from a deficit
of 4.7% in 1992 to a surplus of 0.8% in
1998, increasing to a 2.4% surplus in 2000.
An economic slowdown began in 2001 and
was exacerbated by the terrorists attacks
of September 11, 2001. The deterioration
in the performance of the economy together
with income tax relief provided to help offset
the economic slowdown and additional spend-ing
in response to the terrorist attacks pro-duced
a drop in the surplus to $127.1 billion
(1.3% of GDP) and a return to deficits
($157.8 billion, 1.5% of GDP) in 2002. Debt
held by the public, which peaked at 49.5%
of GDP in 1993, fell to 33.1% in 2001
and increased slightly to 34.3% in 2002.