Question

Return to the table from the Economic Report of the President in the earlier feature titled "The Phillips Curve for the United States." How would you expect government spending to have changed over the last six years?

a) Increased steadily to stimulate economic growth.
b) Fluctuated based on political considerations.
c) Decreased to address fiscal concerns.
d) Remained constant due to bipartisan agreements.

Answer 1

Government spending over the last six years would likely have increased steadily to stimulate economic growth (option a) based on historical patterns and the tendency for politicians to prefer expansionary fiscal policy, including tax cuts and increased spending during challenging economic times.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the information from the Economic Report of the President and historical tendencies of fiscal policy, we can make an educated guess about government spending over the last six years. Generally, politicians tend to favor expansionary fiscal policy, as seen through the historical pattern of proposing tax cuts and spending increases during recessions and avoiding spending cuts or tax increases in prosperous times.


Given the preferences of politicians and the mention of plans to increase defense and infrastructure spending, cut taxes, and maintain spending on Social Security and Medicare, it is reasonable to expect that government spending would have increased steadily to stimulate economic growth, especially in the face of economic challenges or slow growth.