First, as the NY Times has reported, in the last 23 years, the national debt increased by about $12.7 trillion under Republican presidents (Bush and Trump) and by about $13 trillion under Democratic presidents (Obama and Biden). So both parties have contributed nearly evenly.Yet Republicans are still responsible for a larger portion of that debt. Why? Because Bush made two major tax cuts that added to the debt, while Obama simply maintained those cuts. Plus, Bush's financial deregulation lead to the financial collapse in 2008, leading to large fiscal bailouts under Obama's watch. The debt ballooned again because of covid bailouts, but that wasn't either Trump's or Biden's fault.Second, Republicans like to remind of us of middle school history class and lessons about hyperinflation in Germany after WWI, when its government just kept printing more money. Conservatives say that's what we're doing now. But the economics are simply not the same. While economists do disagree as to how much debt is responsible, all economists agree on one thing: defaulting on our national debt will be calamitous. And that's what too many Republicans want to do. So who, exactly, is the party of fiscal responsibility? The party that brought us the majority of increases to our national debt in the last 23 years as well as the financial crisis of 2008?

First, as the NY Times has reported, in the last 23 years, the national debt increased by about $12.7 trillion under Republican presidents (Bush and Trump) and by about $13 trillion under Democratic presidents (Obama and Biden). So both parties have contributed nearly evenly.Yet Republicans are still responsible for a larger portion of that debt. Why? Because Bush made two major tax cuts that added to the debt, while Obama simply maintained those cuts. Plus, Bush's financial deregulation lead to the financial collapse in 2008, leading to large fiscal bailouts under Obama's watch. The debt ballooned again because of covid bailouts, but that wasn't either Trump's or Biden's fault.Second, Republicans like to remind of us of middle school history class and lessons about hyperinflation in Germany after WWI, when its government just kept printing more money. Conservatives say that's what we're doing now. But the economics are simply not the same. While economists do disagree as to how much debt is responsible, all economists agree on one thing: defaulting on our national debt will be calamitous. And that's what too many Republicans want to do. So who, exactly, is the party of fiscal responsibility? The party that brought us the majority of increases to our national debt in the last 23 years as well as the financial crisis of 2008?

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