Who Makes the U.S. Budget Deficit Worse – Democrats or Republicans?
Republicans like to call themselves the party of fiscal discipline. But if you dig into the numbers, you might find some surprises.
Since 1938, Democrats increased the budget deficit by about 8.3 percent, while Republicans grew the deficit by 9.7 percent – almost a 20 percent increase.
Perhaps most startling is what’s happened since 1946.
From 1946 to today, Democratic presidents pushed the deficit up by 3.2 percent per year. Meanwhile, Republican presidents increased the budget deficit by 9.7 percent. In other words, since 1946, Republican presidents have outspent Democratic presidents by almost 3 to 1. So much for the party of fiscal discipline.
This matters to you, because huge budget deficits decrease the value of the U.S. dollar.
Whether we elect a Democrat or Republican president in November, there’s a chance that we may actually see deficits decrease. And that would lead to a stronger dollar. The easiest way to play a stronger dollar is by buying the Rydex Strengthening Dollar ETF (RYSBX), which moves up 2 percent every time the dollar moves up 1 percent.
