Which forty years did Dems control congress?

[wuushew]

I am trying to reconcile supposed control of congress with the tax cuts and budgets passed during the Raygun years. How does one explain this? Either Raygun had supernatural charisma, we didn't actually control congress or the political parties had already started to rot from the inside thanks to special interests and corporate personhood.

[Yupster]

1. 55-94?

Talking about the House. I don't think they had 40 years of House and Senate at the same time.

[goobergunch]

2. Correct

and we lost the Senate 1981-87.

[diplomats]

3. A lot of conservative Dems voted for the Reagan tax cut

BTW, Reagan passed just one tax cut and actually raised taxes several times.

[papau]

5. In 55 I discovered Dems in Control meant GOP bills passed - not Dems.

The "Southern Conservative Dems" always lined up with the GOP - so working control was only 64-67 and 93-94 = and 93-84 required a vote to break the tie by the VP Gore.

[Brucey]

4. By the time Raygun was done,

the economy and deficit were so bad that Poppy Bush had to break his "read my lips" promise and raise taxes. That helped for a little while, but eventually we had recession. Things started to pick up, then zoomed when Clinton managed to get the 93 tax hike and made a deal with Greenspan. Of course, the voters hated the fact that the rich had to pay more, so they elected Newty and company in 1994. Things started sliding, Clinton tried to keep it together, but eventually the economy eroded with less revenues and therefore less money to go round and round. Now we've got the worst of all worlds. Bush*, it seems, has bought the neocon argument that we need to starve the federal government in order to cut Social Security and Medicare. Rubin, Krugman, and other sane economists see very gloomy times ahead... mostly because of the Bush* tax cuts. You've got to tax and spend in order to spur the economy. Giving rich people more money does not increase spending very much since they are already spending as much as they want. The government should give money to poor and middle class, but get something in return (goods and services)... that's called spending!

[wuushew]

6. What the hell was the congress doing under the Carter administration?

this seems like madness



http://www.geocities.com/fedbudget

[Terwilliger]

7. it does seem like 74 or 75 was beginning of the increases

looks like someone (or some group) under Ford started the cascade

[wuushew]

10. Yes that man is Donald Rumsfeld!

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 — President-elect George W. Bush today selected Donald H. Rumsfeld, a veteran Washington insider and champion of missile defenses, to be secretary of defense, the same job Mr. Rumsfeld held in the Ford administration a quarter-century ago before entering the world of business.

Picking Mr. Rumsfeld, 68, a blunt- spoken former Navy fighter pilot and Illinois congressman, brings to the Pentagon's top job a man with the military experience and stature on Capitol Hill to press Mr. Bush's priorities to modernize the armed forces and build a missile shield against emerging threats.

"This is a man who has got great judgment," Mr. Bush told reporters here, introducing Mr. Rumsfeld. "He has got strong vision. And he's going to be a great secretary of defense — again."

[Yupster]

9. I'm pretty sure Carter had

a Democratic House and Senate his whole four years.

[blm]

11. Carter was more conservative back then

and was often at odds with more progressive Dems at the time. Carter has become MORE progressive only since leaving the presidency.

[blm]

8. Congress, yes, but the GOP had the Senate for some

of the Reagan years.