October 26, 2007
DON'T TRY AND CONFUSE THE RIGHT WITH FACTS:
Bush The Big Spender? Check Again (Investor's Business Daily, October 25, 2007)
In the first six years of his term, including the Office of Management and Budget's most current estimate for 2007, Bush spent, on average, 20% of GDP.Posted by Orrin Judd at October 26, 2007 6:25 PMWas that a lot? Not really. As the chart shows, it puts him in the middle of the presidential pack. Since Johnson took office in late 1963, spending as a share of GDP has averaged 20.4%. And, ironically, spending under LBJ was the lowest.
So rather than a "record" spender, as some claim, Bush is actually below average. Indeed, he's within statistical spitting distance of President Clinton, who on average spent 19.6% of GDP.
Good point. Under President Bush the Federal government spent 20.2% of GDP, which compares favorably to the 22.3% the Feds spent under President Reagan.
Currently, spending is growing by 2.7% (roughly the rate of inflation), while tax revenues are growing by 6-7%. The deficit last fiscal year was 1.2% of GDP, which is half the 40-year average of 2.4%.
All in all, it's a pretty good picture.
Posted by: Kurt Brouwer at October 26, 2007 7:11 PM$3Trillion Budget by 2009 it looks like. Does any other country budget for that kind of revenue? The EU looks to be a paper tiger with their 1% cap on their members GDP, so they're out.
Posted by: KRS at October 26, 2007 7:48 PM