In politics, the desire to take credit for beneficial changes and to blame others for detrimental changes has led to many post hoc fallacies. Presidents of the United States almost routinely claim credit for budget surpluses and are blamed by their critics for budget deficits. Yet all federal government spending bills originate in the House of Representatives, and only Congress can change tax rates. When the President and the Congress are of opposite parties, neither a deficit nor a surplus is likely to be due to decisions made in the White House.
