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Bush Spending--a Comparison

George W. Bush is increasingly being compared to President Ronald Reagan--some even call him his heir. President Bush, like Reagan, has implemented large across-the-board tax cuts and has boosted defense spending. The analogy is tempting but incorrect. President Reagan's legacy includes his courageous and largely unappreciated willingness to fight for reductions in domestic spending. By contrast, President Bush has engaged in large, nondefense domestic spending.

Ronald Reagan sought--and won--more spending cuts than any other modern president. He is the only president in the last forty years to cut inflation-adjusted nondefense outlays, which fell by 9.7 percent during his first term. George W. Bush, in contrast, increased real nondefense spending by at least 25.3 percent during his first term.

Moreover, President Reagan believed that the federal government had usurped private, state, and local responsibilities and consequently thought the budgets of most departments and agencies should be cut. Following are comparisons of budget cuts during each presidential term going back to the Johnson administration:

President Reagan cut the budget of 8 agencies out of 15 during his first term and the budget of 10 out of 15 during his second term.
President Clinton cut the budget of 9 out of 15 agencies during his first term but cut none during his second term.
President George W. Bush has cut none of the agencies' budgets during his first term.

Table 1. How Many Departments' and Agencies' Budgets Have They Cut?

President and Term, Number of Budget Cuts

Johnson, 4 out 15
Nixon, 3 out 15
Carter, 5 out 15
Reagan 1, 8 out 15
Reagan 2, 10 out 15
Bush 41, 2 out 15
Clinton 1, 9 out 15
Clinton 2, 0 out 15
Bush 43, 0 out 15

_{Source: author's calculations based on the Budget of the United States FY2005 and the Budget Historical Tables.}

President Reagan is the only president to have cut the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in one of his terms (a total of 40.1 percent during his second term).
President Reagan is the only president to have cut the budget of the Department of Transportation (by 10.5 percent during his first term and by 7.5 percent during his second term).
President George W. Bush has increased funding for the Department of Transportation by 11.3 percent. It is likely to go up drastically if he does not veto the transportation bill currently before Congress.
During his first term in office, President Reagan cut the real budget of the Department of Education by 18.6 percent.
President George W. Bush has increased the real budget of the Department of Education by 67.9 percent.
Reagan managed to cut the budget of the Department of Commerce by 29 percent during his first term and by 3 percent during his second.
President Clinton by contrast increased the Department of Commerce's budget by 24 percent in his first term and then by 96.7 percent in his second.
President Reagan cut the real budget of the Department of Agriculture by 24 percent during his second term in office.