When Ronald Reagan was President he used to claim — with some justification — that he didn’t cut spending as much as he would have liked to since Democrats in Congress controlled the purse strings.
Well, now Republicans control the purse strings in Congress. But the current Republican White House isn’t making the House GOP’s efforts to curtail spending any easier. CATO’s Tad DeHaven alerts Corner readers to this telling Official Statement of Administration Policy[PDF] which blasts House members for not approving even more spending for such federal jewels as the Mentoring of Middle School Students program and the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. (Inquiring minds: Do Children of Prisoners who are also Middle School Students qualify for two scoops of federal raisins with these programs, or just one?)
For a comparison of Reagan and Bush on spending, there’s a good analysis here.