> > Strip away the political finger pointing over President Obama's proposed > budget and the fight boils down to a clash of values. Both major parties are > really for big government — just big in different places. > > Republicans say they're outraged that Obama would "borrow and spend" his > way to a new behemoth government. But they borrowed and spent their way > through the '80s and the current decade. And they love big government — when > it's at the Pentagon. > > Democrats from Obama on down insist that they don't like big government, > that they're just forced into a temporary spending spree by the recession. > But Democrats love big government as well, when it's for social programs > such as universal health care. > > "The basic difference between Democrats and Republicans in recent decades > is which aspect of government spending they prefer," said Steven Schier, a > political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. "With the > Republicans, it's defense. With the Democrats, it's education, environment, > health care etc. That's been the major difference between the two parties > going back to Reagan." > > The numbers tell the tale. > > In his eight years, Republican Ronald Reagan increased government spending > by 69 percent, led by a 92 percent increase in defense spending as he built > up the military to confront the Soviet Union. (These numbers aren't adjusted > for inflation.) > > With the economy growing by the time he left office in 1989, the size of > the government as a share of total economic production had shrunk slightly, > from 22.2 percent to 21.2 percent. > > Democrat Bill Clinton increased government spending by 32 percent from 1993 > to 2001, brought down largely by the rapid slowdown in defense spending > after the Cold War ended. Defense spending grew by just 4 percent during the > Clinton years. > > The combination of restrained growth in government and a booming economy > meant that government's size as a percentage of the economy dropped from > 21.4 percent to 18.5 percent in the Clinton years. > --http://www.mcclatchydc.com/104/story/63361.html
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