In a previous post, I reviewed Rex Nutting’s report that the “Obama spending binge never happened” by reviewing annual percentage changes in federal spending. The numbers support Nutting’s conclusion, but there are several ways of analyzing the federal budget and the results leave plenty of room for debate when it comes to summarizing the government’s fiscal rectitude, or the lack thereof. For example, another method of evaluating federal outlays is by looking at dollar amounts as a percentage of the economy (GDP). By this standard, the Obama administration is open to more criticism vs. comparisons based on the rate of change in spending.
Daily Archives: May 25, 2012
Budget Battles & Reality Checks
Earlier this week, MarketWatch’s Rex Nutting wrote that the “Obama spending binge never happened” and that federal government outlays have recently been rising at the “slowest pace since 1950s.” The claim was quickly attacked by some commentators of the Republican persuasion as a left-wing conspiracy. The motivation for trying to discredit the report is understandable, at least from a raw political perspective. The notion that federal spending hasn’t exploded under Obama doesn’t jibe with the political playbook these days for the loyal opposition. But facts are still facts and so the frenzy of efforts to dismiss Nutter’s column don’t stand up based on the numbers.