Where’d those smaller government Republicans go?
From the WaPo:
Confounding President Bush’s pledges to rein in government growth, federal discretionary spending expanded by 12.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, capping a two-year bulge that saw the government grow by more than 27 percent, according to preliminary spending figures from congressional budget panels.
The sudden rise in spending subject to Congress’s annual discretion stands in marked contrast to the 1990s, when such discretionary spending rose an average of 2.4 percent a year. Not since 1980 and 1981 has federal spending risen at a similar clip. Before those two years, spending increases of this magnitude occurred at the height of the Vietnam War, 1966 to 1968.
Discretionary spending is on the rise in the Republican lead congress. And $87B to Iraq and record deficits.
November 12th, 2003 at 2:20 pm
And don’t forget, the only segment of the economy to add jobs during the Bush 43 administration is:
…drum roll…
The Government!
Smaller Government my ass.