"So, how have the Republicans managed to persuade Americans to buy into the whole “Obama as big spender” narrative?Originally Posted by catherine
It might have something to do with the first year of the Obama presidency where the federal budget increased a whopping 17.9% —going from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. I’ll bet you think that this is the result of the Obama sponsored stimulus plan that is so frequently vilified by the conservatives…but you would be wrong.
The first year of any incoming president term is saddled—for better or for worse—with the budget set by the president whom immediately precedes the new occupant of the White House. Indeed, not only was the 2009 budget the property of George W. Bush—and passed by the 2008 Congress—it was in effect four months before Barack Obama took the oath of office"
The thing is, that is not true. The Democrat controlled House and Senate refused to pass the FY '09 budget in 2008. They waited until after Barack Obama was in office and sent it to him for his signature in March of 2009. That's the budget that increased by nearly 18% and is also the one used as a benchmark for the subsequent non-budgets (the Senate hasn't allowed a formal budget since that FY '09 one) which supposedly prove how frugal the current administration has been.
That '09 budget resulted in a $1.4T deficit which has continued with slight deviations for each subsequent year.
To say that the FY '09 budget was "the property of George W. Bush" is one the the most blatant, and oft repeated lies I've seen in a long time.
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