looks like the orange man group making a come back..

[Spongebob]

If memory serves, I believe Regan and all Republicans since have espoused a philosophy of cutting taxes without necessarily cutting government programs. A "starve the beast" approach. Of course at the same time all Republican administrations have signed on to most military budget increases, needed or not. This philosophy of course causes deficits to increase because spending hasn't dramatically decreased. Maybe a little here and there, but nothing dramatic. And this graph illustrates how the great recession and covid recession have furthered the deficit. The latest military budget was for over $740 Billion. The green line probably shows where the deficit might have gone if we had kept taxes where they were pre-Regan. The only reason it dipped during Clinton's era was he increased taxes a smidge. Bottom line is that as a country, we just spend too much and take in too little in taxes. Much like the Romans, we are addicted to war.