Spending Under President George W. Bush

The Mercatus Center has a final analysis of spending under the Bush presidency – including the growth in spending, comparisons to Clinton and previous spender, pork projects, and growth in spending by category – the bottom line: Bush was a big spender.  If this sounds familiar, it is because we have said it repeatedly, noting spending under Republican control and noting that free markets can’t be blamed for our present economy – as we have move away from free markets.

Yet we need to keep repeating this, as the message hasn’t gotten through to everyone.  The Rendell administration, for instance, blames the Commonwealth Foundation for our economic conditions because we offer free-market solutions.  We admit we have given many policy recommendations – but the Rendell administration and the Bush administration, and now Obama, have done the opposite.