The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie cover image

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

Brian Riedl: Who Bankrupted Us More—Trump or Biden?

Feb 28, 2024
Budget expert Brian Riedl discusses the alarming increase of national debt under Trump and Biden, projecting debt to exceed GDP. They address the inefficiencies in Congress budgeting, contrast spending patterns of Democrats and Republicans, and explore the impact of deficits on economic growth. The conversation dives into historical budget impacts of past presidents, the challenges of shaping public opinion on deficits, and the urgency of reforming entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
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Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Both Biden and Trump have a track record of excessive spending leading to a growing national debt.
  • Inefficiencies in the budgeting process and autopilot spending on programs like Social Security hinder effective budget management.

Deep dives

Budget Reform Challenges

The current budgeting process in Congress, established in the 1974 Budget Act, has been hampered by inefficiencies and failures to pass timely budgets. Major program spending like Social Security and Medicare remain on autopilot, limiting effective budget decision-making and prioritization.

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