Cost of Government Day (COGD)
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Title: Parties should be check, balance for each other

Date: July 26, 2003

Source: Chillicothe Gazette

Words: 409

In 1996, when President Clinton declared that the "era of big government" was over, few Republicans believed he was sincere. After all, they noted, Clinton was a Democrat who had raised taxes and tried to pass a massive new federal health care program.

Four years later, when presidential candidate George W. Bush proclaimed himself a "compassionate conservative," Democrats were skeptical. They warned that Bush was a right-wing Republican who would cut social programs to the bone if given a chance.

Now a new study shows that both presidents have proved their critics wrong. Under Clinton, government did shrink. And if compassion is measured by growing government, Bush has more than earned his campaign moniker since taking office.

Voters worried about the country's ability to handle burgeoning budget deficits can benefit from heeding these surprising findings when deciding which party is more fiscally responsible. The bottom line: Each is a big spender when placed in charge of both the executive and legislative branches, and each is thrifty only when it has to share power with the opposition.

During the Clinton years, federal spending as a percentage of the nation's total economic output dropped from 22 percent at the start of his first term to below 19 percent at the end of his second. Huge deficits were replaced with record surpluses. Regulatory costs likewise declined steadily throughout Clinton's presidency, according to a study released Friday by Americans for Tax Reform, a group that favors low taxes. That record stems from the fact that Republicans ruled Congress during Clinton's last six years in office.

Under Bush, by contrast, government spending is up 12.4 percent over the past three years, record deficits have returned and regulatory costs are up 8.4 percent. That's in spite of the fact that Republicans, who normally talk about cutting government, have been in control of the White House and both houses of Congress for much of Bush's presidency.

This pattern has emerged at the state level as well. States with Republicans in control of the legislature and governor's office saw spending rise fastest from 1997 to 2002, according to a USA TODAY survey published in May. Spending in Democratic-controlled states rose less quickly. States with the most fiscal restraint had governments in which the two parties shared control.

That's further proof of how political images can be deceiving. The best way to curb both parties' spending impulses is to make sure they serve as checks on each other.

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