# Obama - the lowest spending POTUS since Coolidge **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 7, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339 "2012-06-07T01:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/1 "2012-06-07T01:05:42Z")
[http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-22/commentary/31802270\_1\_spending-federal-budget-drunken-sailor](http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-22/commentary/31802270_1_spending-federal-budget-drunken-sailor) Of course I am referencing the Nutting article above - which puts Obama spending at a 1.4% annualized rate from previous years. Fine. Bush 43 was in the 8% range for eight years. The CBO numbers back Nutting up. Has this been hashed out here? Will anyone dispute this? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/2 "2012-06-07T01:30:28Z")
George Bush submitted the 2009 budget in February 2008. In early 2009, Obama proposed the stimulus, which was quickly approved. Are you saying that because Bush originally submitted the 2009 budget, Bush should be held responsible for the spending increases and tax cuts that Obama proposed in the middle of 2009? ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/3 "2012-06-07T01:43:27Z")
**puddleglum** and I tried to explain this nonsense to **Lobohan** in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652862&page=2) thread on page 2. I assume **Lobohan** finally figured out the article was bullshit because he quickly stopped responding. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/4 "2012-06-07T01:48:52Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > **puddleglum** and I tried to explain this nonsense to **Lobohan** in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652862&page=2) thread on page 2. I assume **Lobohan** finally figured out the article was bullshit because he quickly stopped responding. No, I lost track of the thread. I assure you, you’re incorrect that you effectively argued it. Next time you want me to respond to something, please feel free to PM me. If I’m wrong I want to know about it. In this case however, it looks like you’re the one full of it. Take it up with Politifact: [PolitiFact | Viral Facebook post says Barack Obama has lowest spending record of any recent president](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/may/23/facebook-posts/viral-facebook-post-says-barack-obama-has-lowest-s/) ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/5 "2012-06-07T01:54:06Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > **puddleglum** and I tried to explain this nonsense to **Lobohan** in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652862&page=2) thread on page 2. I assume **Lobohan** finally figured out the article was bullshit because he quickly stopped responding. I perused the thread and don’t see a coherent argument for you. Federal spending in Bush’s last fy was 3.52 trillion and it is barely above that now. I will source if you like. (the CBO). ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/6 "2012-06-07T01:59:06Z")
There’s no debate - it is pretty indisputable. It’s also a big reason why we’re stalling out economically. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/7 "2012-06-07T02:18:35Z")
> [@Linden\_Arden](#): > > Will anyone dispute this? I’ll put all the effort into disputing it that you put into framing it. > **[The Obama Spending Binge](https://reason.com/2012/05/23/the-obama-spending-binge/)** > > Liberal bloggers have been passing around a piece by Rex Nutting at Market Watch arguing that although "almost everyone believes that Obama has presided ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/8 "2012-06-07T02:32:59Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I’ll put all the effort into disputing it that you put into framing it. > > [The Obama Spending Binge](http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/23/the-obama-spending-binge) Very little then. I am a frequent contributor to Reason H&R. Reason is a band of misfits who now go by the Brat-bitch way of discourse. May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/9 "2012-06-07T02:38:46Z")
> [@Linden\_Arden](#): > > Very little then. Hey, it was your OP. ---
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/10 "2012-06-07T02:45:46Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Hey, it was your OP. Reason H&R posters are malformed idiots. They oppose the CDC and FDIC for instance. Any dime spent on the CDC is a waste. I know them all there. They are full time miscreants. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/11 "2012-06-07T02:46:16Z")
Here’s a graph on federal, state and local spending under Obama: [http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/federal-reserve-economic-data-chart-real-government-spending-obama-recovery.php](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/federal-reserve-economic-data-chart-real-government-spending-obama-recovery.php) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/12 "2012-06-07T02:51:54Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > There’s no debate - it is pretty indisputable. It’s also a big reason why we’re stalling out economically. Word. Obama should make [Paul Krugman](http://www.amazon.com/End-This-Depression-Paul-Krugman/dp/0393088774) chair of the Council of Economic Advisors or something. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/13 "2012-06-07T03:35:17Z")
This thread proves that statistics can be made to show absolutely anything. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/14 "2012-06-07T03:51:13Z")
> [@Linden\_Arden](#): > > Reason H&R posters are malformed idiots. :rolleyes: > **[The False Obama Spending Math by Market Watch](https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/05/the_false_obama_spending_math_by_market_watch.html)** > > Columnist Rex Nutting over at Market Watch has a story with the headline [http://spectator.org/archives/2012/05/30/plenty-of-nutting](http://spectator.org/archives/2012/05/30/plenty-of-nutting) I’ve now put in _three times_ as much work in disproving your OP as you did in crafting it Point is: linking to an article and saying “Will anyone dispute this?” is intellectually lazy (almost as intellectually lazy as saying “I disregard all arguments from \_\_\_\_ cause they’re all doodyheads”). It was disputed all over the internet. If you’re unaware of the rather obvious counterarguments, it’s because you didn’t look. If you have an argument to make, make it. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/15 "2012-06-07T05:14:43Z")
> [@furt](#): > > [The Obama Spending Binge](http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/23/the-obama-spending-binge) Reason’s chart is skewed because it is based on spending as a share of GDP. As Nutting points out, GDP has fallen making the same amount of spending look like an increase. But does Reason have a point that Nutting is also cherry picking his stats by focusing on the year to year increase in spending? They call him a big spender for maintaining the high level of spending begun in 2009. ---
**Author:** ![Randvek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a6a055/32.png) [@Randvek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randvek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/16 "2012-06-07T07:58:44Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I’ve now put in _three times_ as much work in disproving your OP as you did in crafting it Your links are complete and total garbage. Take this gem, for instance: “But poor President Obama pleads that when he came into office in January 2009, he was just unable to do anything about the Animal House, binge drinking, frat party he and Pelosi ordered up for the year, with Rep. Barney Frank co-starring as John Belushi. Unlike when a real adult came into office in January, 1981.” The fact that you expect us to take numbskulls like this seriously… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/17 "2012-06-07T10:15:14Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > This thread proves that statistics can be made to show absolutely anything. This is tired nonsense offered by those without actual evidence for their position. If stats could actually be made to say anything, we would never be able to answer questions or make advances. Do not let the conservative war on science get any further! ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/18 "2012-06-07T11:09:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Your links are complete and total garbage. Meh. They were the first three ones that showed up on Google. Didn’t really bother to read them closely. But I’ll file you in with the “unable/unwilling to craft an argument, or logically refute one” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/19 "2012-06-07T11:21:02Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Meh. They were the first three ones that showed up on Google. Didn’t really bother to read them closely. > > But I’ll file you in with the “unable/unwilling to craft an argument, or logically refute one” crowd. You appear to have written these two sentences together without the slightest hint of irony. It is breathtaking. Like a shorn scrotum. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339/20 "2012-06-07T12:57:45Z")
I wasn’t aware that the president decided how much money was spent. I’m going to sue my HS Civics teacher-- we were taught that Congress approves the budget. We’re were also taught that spending bills had to originate in the House. But that would mean the Republican controlled House was the real source of this thrift, and that can’t be true. Only Obama can claim credit for this marvel of the last few years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-the-lowest-spending-potus-since-coolidge/624339.md?page=2)