In Reply to: On a very narrow scope, sure, the known cycle is Republicans posted by blindness on August 19, 2026 at 09:27:58
The Republicans pass out tax cuts like shots at a frat party and expect the Democrats to solve it by passing tax increases and gutting spending on critical health, safety and infrastructure items in the budget. The deficit is never an issue when Republicans explode it, and the cure -- increasing taxes -- is a political time bomb. So the Democrats make things better, but cannot fix the entire government with obstructionist republicans in Congress.
Example: Carter was savaged for running a $77 billion on budget deficit his final year in office. Reagan tripled it running 4 deficits over $200 billion. Bush I continued the spending spree, all 4 on budget deficits between $277 and $340 billion!
Clinton took over and by in his last for years ran the total budget on a surplus of $559 billion! That is not being part of the problem.
Obama inherited a $1.4 trillion deficit and what was at that time the worst economic downturn since the Depression. He cut that deficit to $441 billion and left office with as deficit of $665 billion. Did Obama solve the problem? Not entirely but he substantially improved the fiscal health to the nation.
Then of course Donny Pantshitter takes office and explodes that deficit to $3.1 trillion. An utter catastrophe, and hands of that deficit and worst economic crisis since the Great Depression to his successor.
When Democrats come into office they have to contend with fiscal and economic disasters inherited from their predecessors, disasters which keep getting worse.