| Surplus | ||||||
| Year | President’s Name | President’s Party | House | Senate | Amount (B) | |
| 1947 | Harry Truman | Democrat | R | R | $42.11 | |
| 1948 | Harry Truman | Democrat | D | D | $114.56 | |
| 1949 | Harry Truman | Democrat | D | D | $5.88 | |
| 1951 | Harry Truman | Democrat | D | D | $54.95 | |
| 1956 | Dwight Eisenhower | Republican | D | D | $33.62 | |
| 1957 | Dwight Eisenhower | Republican | D | D | $28.33 | |
| 1960 | Dwight Eisenhower | Republican | D | D | $2.36 | |
| 1969 | Richard Nixon | Republican | D | D | $20.38 | |
| 1998 | Bill Clinton | Democrat | R | R | $99.28 | |
| 1999 | Bill Clinton | Democrat | R | R | $176.16 | |
| 2000 | Bill Clinton | Democrat | R | R | $320.76 | |
| 2001 | George Bush | Republican | R | D | $168.16 | |
| So what can we say about these numbers: | ||||||
| 1. Since 1941, that is, in 76 years, the United States has only experimented 12 years of Budget Surplus. | ||||||
| The rest of the 64 years have been deficits. | ||||||
| 2. Only Five Presidents are a part of this prestigious group of Surpluses. 7 times under a Democrat President and 5 times under a Republican President. | ||||||
| 3. With the exception of Harry Truman in 1948, 1949 and 1951, the rest of the Surpluses took place with both, House and Senate , been of a opposive party that the President. | ||||||
| George Bush actually lost the Senate to the Democrats the year he experience his surplus in 2001. The last surplus ever registered, by the way! | ||||||
| 4. President Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) experienced his three budget surplus years with a blue House and Senate. | ||||||
| Likewise, President Bill Clinton experienced his three budget surpluses | ||||||
| with an opposive House and Senate; that is including the largest surplus ever in the history of this nation, $320 Billion surplus in 2000. | ||||||
| Why do I point these things out? As we look at the condition of our government, I can’t help but experience a degree of sadness and disappointment. We have had 8 years of the greatest deficits in the history of this nation. President Obama accumulated more debt than all of the Presidents in the history of the United States combine. Wow! | ||||||
| Our national debt is now over 20 Trillion dollards and counting. | ||||||
| Donald Trump now has both, the House and Senate; he starts his term as President, just like Obama did. No excuses! Right? However, history has shown us that America is at her best when the President is of a different party affiliation than the House and the Senate. My concern in today’s politics is that the gab between parties is wider than ever and I don’t think they are able to reach out to the other party without feeling that they are compromising their essence. I hope that this President, this House and Senate get things done and start changing these and other foundational numbers related to our economy. If they fail to do so, many Republicans, especially the conservative wing of the party, will send a strong message of our disgust with the current style of selfish politics. A selfishness to a degree that is placing ideologies over the good of the nations.
I don’t know about you, but I will be watching for those numbers that count: Surpluses or deficits, employment, employment participation rate, home ownership, job creation, the economy, etc. God bless you! |
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