Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower?
Would You Believe It's Barack Obama?
Rick Ungar, Contributor Writing from the left on politics and policy. 5/24/2012 -
|1,619,090 views
It’s enough to make even the most ardent Obama cynic scratch his head in confusion.
Amidst all the cries of Barack Obama being the most prolific big government spender the nation has ever suffered, Marketwatch is
reporting that our president has actually been tighter with a buck than
any United States president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Who knew?
Check out the chart –
So, how have the Republicans managed to persuade Americans to buy into the whole “Obama as big spender” narrative?
It might have something to do with the first year of the Obama presidency where the federal budget increased a whopping 17.9% —going
from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. I’ll bet you think that this is
the result of the Obama sponsored stimulus plan that is so frequently
vilified by the conservatives…but you would be wrong.
The first year of any incoming president term is saddled—for better
or for worse—with the budget set by the president whom immediately
precedes the new occupant of the White House. Indeed, not only was the
2009 budget the property of George W. Bush—and passed by the 2008
Congress—it was in effect four months before Barack Obama took the oath
of office.
Accordingly, the first budget that can be blamed on our current
president began in 2010 with the budgets running through and including
including fiscal year 2013 standing as charges on the Obama account,
even if a President Willard M. Romney takes over the office on January
20, 2013.
So, how do the actual Obama annual budgets look?
Courtesy of Marketwatch
- In fiscal 2010 (the first Obama budget) 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 Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
- Finally in fiscal 2013 — the final budget of Obama’s term — spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion. Read the CBO’s latest budget outlook.
No doubt, many will wish to give the credit to the efforts of the GOP
controlled House of Representatives. That’s fine if that’s what works
for you.
However, you don’t get to have it both ways. Credit whom you will,
but if you are truly interested in a fair analysis of the Obama years to
date—at least when it comes to spending—you’re going to have to
acknowledge that under the Obama watch, even President Reagan would have
to give our current president a thumbs up when it comes to his record
for stretching a dollar.
Of course, the Heritage Foundation
is having none of it, attempting to counter the actual numbers by
pretending that the spending initiated by the Bush Administration is the
fault of Obama. As I understand the argument Heritage is putting forth
—and I have provided the link to the Heritage rebuttal so you can decide for yourself—Marketwatch, in using the baseline that Obama inherited, is making it too easy on the President.
But then, with the Heritage Foundation being the creator of the
individual mandate concept in healthcare only to rebut the same when it
was no longer politically convenient, I’m not quite sure why anyone
believes much of anything they have to say any longer. With their
history of reversing course for convenience, I can’t help but wonder,
should they find themselves reviewing the spending record of a President
Romney four years from today, whether they might be tempted to use the
Obama numbers as the baseline for such a new Administration.
contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.com
Twitter @rickungar
NOTE: Some of the comments to this piece have gotten well out of
control, involving threats and obscenity to other commenters and myself.
While I welcome and encourage comments from all points of view, obscene
remarks are removed and not tolerated. I’ll be happy to jump back into
the conversation and reply to some comments when those who are misusing
the forum settle down.
Obama spending binge never happened
Commentary: Government outlays rising at slowest pace since 1950s
WASHINGTON
(MarketWatch) - 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: “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.”
Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an “inferno” of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our children’s future. Even
Democrats seem to think it’s true.
But it didn’t 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 — the last of George W. Bush’s presidency — 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.
As would-be president Mitt Romney tells it: “I will lead us out of this debt and spending inferno.”
Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending, an “inferno” of spending that threatens our jobs, our businesses and our children’s future. Even
Democrats seem to think it’s true.
But it didn’t 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 — the last of George W. Bush’s presidency — 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 — the first budget under Obama — 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 Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
• Finally in fiscal 2013 — the final budget of Obama’s term — spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion.
Read the CBO’s latest budget outlook.
Over Obama’s 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.
Why do people think Obama has spent like a drunken sailor? It’s in part because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the federal budget.
What people forget (or never knew) is that the first year of every presidential term starts with a budget approved by the previous administration and Congress. The president only begins to shape the budget in his second year. It takes time to develop a budget and steer it through Congress — especially in these days of congressional gridlock.
The 2009 fiscal year, which Republicans count as part of Obama’s legacy, began four months before Obama moved into the White House. The major spending decisions in the 2009 fiscal year were made by George W. Bush and the previous Congress.
Like a relief pitcher who comes into the game with the bases loaded, Obama came in with a budget in place that called for spending to increase by hundreds of billions of dollars in response to the worst economic and financial calamity in generations.
• 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 Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
• Finally in fiscal 2013 — the final budget of Obama’s term — spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion.
Read the CBO’s latest budget outlook.
Over Obama’s 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.
Why do people think Obama has spent like a drunken sailor? It’s in part because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the federal budget.
What people forget (or never knew) is that the first year of every presidential term starts with a budget approved by the previous administration and Congress. The president only begins to shape the budget in his second year. It takes time to develop a budget and steer it through Congress — especially in these days of congressional gridlock.
The 2009 fiscal year, which Republicans count as part of Obama’s legacy, began four months before Obama moved into the White House. The major spending decisions in the 2009 fiscal year were made by George W. Bush and the previous Congress.
Like a relief pitcher who comes into the game with the bases loaded, Obama came in with a budget in place that called for spending to increase by hundreds of billions of dollars in response to the worst economic and financial calamity in generations.
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-22/commentary/31802270_1_spending-federal-budget-drunken-sailor
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