OMG! A Wall Street Journal commentary that stumbles on the truth!

The reference point is Romney's statement (and his followers' ardent belief) that Obama created a "spending inferno."

...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. ..WSJ, MarketWatch

While everyone was standing around, looking kind of dumb and speculating about some hidden reason why the market recovered so nicely during Obama's first term, the reason why is that Wall Street kind of embraces hard facts.

 

Republicans do not.  As we know well, hard facts -- truth --have not been treated kindly by Mitt or anyone of his political persuasion.  They know how to take money, but not how to make it. 

Allow yourself a fresh look at Bain, or at George W. Bush's presidency, or other Republican ventures into the world of money, and you'll notice that their profit is your (or someone's) loss.  It's hard, after witnessing the past thirty years, not to conclude that Republican administrations -- in alliance with Republicans in Congress -- have been about profiteering, not about governing.

Comments

[ascap_scab]

While everyone was standing around, looking kind of dumb and speculating about some hidden reason why the market recovered so nicely during Obama's first term, the reason why is that Wall Street kind of embraces hard facts.

Well, actually, the FED is artificially keeping the Markets afloat as can be seen with this ZeroHedge post.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-22/what-1230-days-explicit-market-support-federal-reserve-looks

The FED has pumped 3 Trillion into the markets and can't stop now without having the market collapse.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1136091-happy-3-trillion-federal-reserve-you-earned-it?source=google_news

[PW]

I just love verifying links in which the authors use fake names to cover up who they are. Tyler Durden?

[ascap_scab]

Right, said PW.

I've been around a while.