PERRspectives: Federal Spending Has Not Increased Under President Obama

PERRspectives: Federal Spending Has Not Increased Under President Obama

"It is an article of faith among Republicans that federal spending is "out of control" under President Obama. For the stenographers who seem to make up the bulk of the American media, the image of Obama the "tax and spend liberal" is taken for granted. Too bad it's not true. As the latest 10-year budget forecast from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) once again confirms, Uncle Sam has been spending less than the day Barack Obama first took the oath of office. In its latest assessment, CBO predicted fiscal year 2016 spending would rise to $3.91 trillion dollars. In FY 2017 which starts on October 1, spending during President Obama's final days in office will increase to $4.07 trillion. But taking inflation into account by using constant FY 2009 dollars (see OMB historical table 1.3) shows a different picture. At, $3.51 trillion, Inflation-adjusted FY 2016 spending will still be lower than on Barack Obama's first inauguration day. As I noted previously: On January 7, 2009, CNN reported on the latest long-term budget forecast from the CBO. Two weeks before President Bush ambled out of the Oval Office, CNN explained "the U.S. budget deficit in 2009 is projected to spike to a record $1.2 trillion, or 8.3% of gross domestic product." With the recession in full swing and the massive TARP program passed the previous fall, CBO predicted in January 2009 that federal spending would spike to $3.543 trillion dollars while tax revenue would plummet to an anemic to $2,357 trillion. As it turned out, the final deficit figure for the 2009 fiscal year which ended on September 30, 2009 reached $1.413 trillion because of worse-than-expected tax collections ($2,105 trillion.) If you're looking for a big spender, look no further than George W. Bush. As CBO explained, "the budget deficit for 2016 will increase after six years of decline." The culprit behind that jump from $439 billion in red ink for 2015 to $544 billion in 2016?"