Figures lie and liars figure, right?
But — spending is controlled by Congress. Yes, presidents sign off on bills and propose a budget, but the Congress reshapes and adds and twists. The pursestrings are not held by the Executive, but by the House Ways and Means Committee.
Why do we always put spending under each president rather than the majority Congressional party?
But apropos of your comment, and I wish I could remember where, but somewhere I read that in the recent period of Democrat control of the House from 2007 to 2011 that government spending was up 37%.
“But — spending is controlled by Congress. “
Spot on, my man. Here are the federal deficits for the end of the Bush admin / beginning of the Obama regime:
2007: $161 billion deficit; last year of GOP congress budget
2008: $459 billion deficit; Pelosi/Reed budget kicks in
2009: $1413 billion deficit; Pelosi/Reed/Obama budget in high gear
2010: $1293 billion deficit; as above
2011: $1300 billion deficit; donkey spending on autopilot as Reed refuses to pass a budget
2012: $1327 billion deficit; GOP house cannot cut as Reed senate goes another year without a budget
2013: $1 trillion+ deficit projected as Senate keeps donkey spending on autopilot by not submitting 2012 budget.