Big Spender

I see so much misinformation in what passes for news media in this country that I prefer not to get my opinions from the talking heads on TV. Rather, I prefer to form my own opinions based on facts, not fables. Much has been spoken and written in conservative media about Obama’s “reckless spending.” I decided to look at the actual numbers and try to find the truth. I asked the question: how does government spending under Obama compare with government spending under past presidents? I looked at every fiscal year since Reagan took office.

Keep in mind that only Congress can authorize spending. The President can propose a budget to Congress, but it’s really a wish list; Congress can reject it, modify it, or pass it. Usually, many changes are made to a budget before it passes.

Budgets are a slippery topic. The U.S. has two kinds of expenditures: on-budget and off-budget. Items that are off-budget are funded through supplemental appropriations. For example, George W. Bush did not include the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budgets. Those operations were funded off-budget. When Barack Obama came into office he chose to include the cost of those military operations in his budgets. That boosted the size of his budgets by hundreds of billions of dollars, even if the government had otherwise spent exactly the same amount of money as in the previous year.

For the table on this page, I’ve chosen to use Total Outlays, which includes on-budget and off-budget expenditures.

I need to explain the term fiscal year. The government’s fiscal year currently begins on October 1 and runs through September 30. The fiscal year is named after the year in which the budget ends. So, for example, Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, sworn into office in 1981, and sent his first budget to Congress for the fiscal year beginning in October, 1981, which was FY 1982. Reagan’s final budget was sent to Congress in 1988 for the next fiscal year, FY 1989.

I have seen “news” articles attributing the FY 2009 budget to Barack Obama. This is incorrect. The FY 2009 budget had been funding government for almost 4 months before Obama was sworn into office. Obama’s first budget was for FY 2010, and his last budget will be for either FY 2013 or (if he is re-elected) FY 2017.

Numbers for the following table are from the Office of Management and Budget and specifically Table 1.1—Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (-): 1789–2017. Last updated Aug 9, 2016 using data from Table 1.1—Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits (-): 1789–2021.

Fiscal Year	Total Outlays (billions)	Previous Year (billions)	Difference (billions)	Percent Change (from previous year)
Ronald Reagan
1982	745.7	678.2	67.5	9.95%
1983	808.3	745.7	62.6	8.40%
1984	851.8	808.3	43.5	5.37%
1985	946.3	851.8	94.5	11.10%
1986	990.3	946.3	44.0	4.65%
1987	1004.0	990.3	13.7	1.38%
1988	1064.4	1004.0	60.4	6.02%
1989	1143.7	1064.4	79.3	7.45%
Average annual growth during Reagan terms				8.58%
G. H. W. Bush
1990	1253.0	1143.7	109.3	9.55%
1991	1324.2	1253.0	71.2	5.68%
1992	1381.5	1324.2	57.3	4.33%
1993	1409.4	1381.5	27.9	2.02%
Average annual growth during  Bush term				5.80%
Bill Clinton
1994	1461.8	1409.4	52.4	3.72%
1995	1515.7	1461.8	53.9	3.69%
1996	1560.5	1515.7	44.8	2.95%
1997	1601.1	1560.5	40.6	2.60%
1998	1652.5	1601.1	51.4	3.21%
1999	1701.8	1652.5	49.3	2.99%
2000	1789.0	1701.8	87.2	5.12%
2001	1862.8	1789.0	73.8	4.13%
Average annual growth during Clinton terms				4.02%
G. W. Bush
2002	2010.9	1862.8	148.1	7.95%
2003	2159.9	2010.9	149.0	7.41%
2004	2292.8	2159.9	132.9	6.16%
2005	2472.0	2292.8	179.2	7.81%
2006	2655.1	2472.0	283.1	7.41%
2007	2728.7	2655.1	73.6	2.77%
2008	2982.5	2728.7	253.8	9.30%
2009	3517.7	2982.5	535.2	17.94%
Average annual growth during  Bush terms				11.10%
Barack Obama
2010	3456.2	3517.7	– 61.5	– 1.75%
2011	3603.1	3456.2	146.9	4.25%
2012	3537.0	3603.1	-66.1	-1.83%
2013	3454.6	3537.0	-82.4	-2.32%
2014	3506.1	3454.6	51.5	1.49%
2015	3688.3	3506.1	182.2	5.20%
2016	3951.3*	3688.3	263.0*	7.13%*
2017	4147.2*	3951.3*	195.9*	4.96%*
Average annual growth during Obama terms				2.24%**

(* estimated; the fiscal year is not yet over.)
(** The last two years, 2016 & 2017, are estimated. The first six years of Obama's terms produced an average annual deficit of 0.81%.)

I have a final comment about the FY 2009 budget. The budget George Bush sent to Congress included a $400 billion deficit. However, Congress added more than $400 billion dollars of spending to the budget, and the economy tanked, resulting in tax receipts being $600 billion less than expected. These events resulted in a $1.4 trillion deficit. Without this massive FY 2009 deficit, Bush's average annual spending would have been 8.59%, almost identical to Reagan's 8.58%.