@Final-Fan
Perhaps I did not make myself clear during the course of this train wreck. I will try again. I have utter contempt for your correlation as it is crude and misleading in all its many forms. While it pains me that I would so grossly misrepresent your tortured logic (my fault, not yours), your clarification does offer an opportunity for further edification.
In a way you are right when you say I missed the obvious. I should have put two and two together when you first said the R’s faired worst during the full 78 years than versus the last 25 years - the very years the R’s were the most complicit in runaway spending. Something should have clicked right then, but it just didn’t register (sort of like when it didn’t dawn on me that Bruce Willis was dead when he was talking to that kid until near the end of the movie).
Now that I have finally caught up, let’s test it.
In the event Dems had complete power for 4 years in a row, but the Reps took power of just the House in the 5 year, your methodology would find that both parties are equally responsible for deficit spending if change in debt is an equal $100B each year.
Yr1 DDD -100
Yr2 DDD -100
Yr3 DDD -100
Yr4 DDD -100
Yr5 DDR -100
Total Chg in Debt for D’s = -466; for R’s = -33. Avg for Dems = -33; Avg for R=-33.
This simple scenario is revealing since the D’s had complete control over your “thirds” 3 times as often as R’s. Even when it was divided, the D’s had the majority of your “thirds” more times than the R’s. Your methodology is weighted against the minority third who in theory may be in the weakest position to effect change.
Now, I probably should have figured out what you were doing from the very beginning, but given how unsound the whole premise, maybe I should get a pass. What’s ironic is, as much as I may have warped your methodology, my error seems to produce a more reasonable result than your “corrected” version whether looking at 25 years or 78 years (I’ve not tried any other cuts). I don’t take any pride in that. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, eh?
So tell me; in the example above, which party do you think is more responsible for deficit spending?
You say you have faith in your approach. Is it blind?
Oh. Happy New Year.
