http://articles.marketwatch.com/201...2270_1_spending-federal-budget-drunken-sailor
Obama spending binge never happened
Government outlays rising at slowest pace since 1950s
May 22, 2012|Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) â Of all the falsehoods told about President Barack Obama, the biggest whopper is the one about his reckless spending spree.
As would-be president Mitt Romney tells it: âI will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.â
Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an âinfernoâ of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our childrenâs future. Even Democrats seem to think itâs true.
But it didnât happen. Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s.
Even hapless Herbert Hoover managed to increase spending more than Obama has.
Here are the facts, according to the official government statistics:
⢠In the 2009 fiscal year â the last of George W. Bushâs presidency â federal spending rose by 17.9% from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. Check the official numbers at the Office of Management and Budget.
⢠In fiscal 2010 â the first budget under Obama â spending fell 1.8% to $3.46 trillion.
⢠In fiscal 2011, spending rose 4.3% to $3.60 trillion.
⢠In fiscal 2012, spending is set to rise 0.7% to $3.63 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Officeâs estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
⢠Finally in fiscal 2013 â the final budget of Obamaâs term â spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion. Read the CBOâs latest budget outlook.
Over Obamaâs four budget years, federal spending is on track to rise from $3.52 trillion to $3.58 trillion, an annualized increase of just 0.4%.
There has been no huge increase in spending under the current president, despite what you hear.
