|
The Austerity Myth: Federal Spending Up 5% This YearBy JOHN MERLINE, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILYInvestors.com Oct. 18, 2011 |
Popular 
Sen. Hawley: Send National Guard to Crush Pro-Palestine Protests Like 'Eisenhower Sent the 101st to Little Rock'
Mistrial Declared in Case of Arizona Rancher Accused of Killing Migrant Trespasser
AP: 'Israeli Strikes on Gaza City of Rafah Kill 22, Mostly Children, as U.S. Advances Aid Package'
John Podhoretz Demands National Guard Be Sent Into Columbia U to Put Down Pro-Palestine Protests
House Passes $95B Foreign Aid Giveaway to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, Combined With TikTok Ban
|
  When Republicans took control of the House in January, they pledged to make deep cuts in federal spending, and in April they succeeded in passing a bill advertised as cutting $38 billion from fiscal 2011's budget. Then in August, they pushed for a deal to cut an additional $2.4 trillion over the next decade.Some analysts have blamed these spending cuts for this year's economic slowdown. But data released by the Treasury Department on Friday show that, so far, there haven't been any spending cuts at all. Higher Spending, Deficits In fact, in the first nine months of this year, federal spending was $120 billion higher than in the same period in 2010, the data show. That's an increase of almost 5%. And deficits during this time were $23.5 billion higher. These spending hikes haven't stopped many analysts from claiming that the country is in an age of budget austerity, one that's hurting economic growth. Read More |
