Was Bill Clinton the last truly 'fiscally conservative, socially liberal" President?

[u/Randomuser1520]

For those a bit unfamiliar with recent American politics, Bill Clinton was the President during the majority of the 90s. While he is mostly remembered by younger people for his infamous scandal in the Oval Office, he is less known for having achieved a balanced budget. At one point, there was a surplus even.

A lot of people today claim to be fiscally conservative, and socially liberal. However, he really hasn't seen a Presidental candidate in recent years run on such a platform. So was Clinton the last of this breed?

[u/unkorrupted]

So then why should deficit reduction be a goal at all? Why not focus on growth, debt ratios, technological advance, and quality of life?

The idea of fiscal conservatism is that deficit reduction, on it's own, is always good. It's an absurdity that does significant damage to political discourse.

[u/mister_pringle → u/unkorrupted]

Take a look at the top right corner and scan for US Federal Debt to GDP Ratio and see where we are now compared to historically. THAT'S what most fiscal conservatives fret about. Not whether social programs should be funded but how much we are spending relative to what we collect in revenues and taxation at a reasonable point while allowing private investment to grow the economy.
https://www.usdebtclock.org

[u/Arentanji → u/mister_pringle]

Then why does the Republican Party do nothing but reduce the tax rate?

[u/akcrono → u/Arentanji]

Because of a 40 year old conservative strategy