By David K Sutton
Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican Party love a good story. They don’t have much concern for facts and accuracy, they just like a good story. And a good story to them is one that paints President Obama as dangerous and reckless for America. And nothing could be more reckless than a spending binge with tax payer dollars, right? Well, maybe. But did President Obama really go on a spending binge? Unfortunately reality has a way of intruding on the colorful stories Republicans tell.
Below are the cold hard facts. I don’t present these facts as a way to pat President Obama on the back and say “good job.” I simply present them for what they are: facts.
Fact 1 - The 2009 federal budget year began 4 months before Obama took office. This means its the final budget year from the Bush-era. President Bush (and congress) are responsible for 2009.
Fact 2 - In 2009, federal spending increased from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. This is an increase of 18%. Again, this is Bush’s final budget year.
Fact 3 – 2010, President Obama’s first budget year, saw a decrease in federal spending, $3.52 trillion to $3.46 trillion, a reduction of nearly 2%.
Fact 4 – 2011, federal spending rose by 4.3% – $3.46 trillion to $3.6 trillion.
Fact 5 - Estimated 2012 spending currently stands at $3.8 trillion, an increase of 5.5% from 2011.
Fact 6 - The estimated spending for 2012 is 7.4% higher than 2009, President Bush’s final budget year. That’s an average annual increase of about 2.6% a year.
President Obama has averaged a 2.6% spending increase in each of his first 3 budget years. I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I define a “spending binge.” A 2.6% per year increase in spending is pretty much in line with historic rates of inflation. When you then consider we are recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression (a time when government should be spending money to stimulate the economy), it’s shocking that spending has increased so little during Obama’s first term.
Another right-wing lie put to rest.
