ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the logic of spending decisions to show that divided partisan control of Congress in the 1980s was the principle cause of the rapid growth in budget deficits seen during that decade. The Reagan administration hoped that the large tax cut it also won in 1981 would, by creating unpalatable deficits, cause Congress to go along with its desired cuts in domestic and social spending. The presidential ascendancy story, in its strongest form, argues that "strong" presidents can dominate the legislature. In contrast to the powers delegated to the president by Congress, the veto gives the president a strong position in the legislative process. The president's proposal may matter on some occasions and not on others, but the veto applies to all acts of Congress. The "interest group liberalism" that purportedly dominates congressional politics, if it exists, has profound implications for budgeting, as well.
