Obama Spending Trends Charted
Posted May 12th, 2009 at 6.33pm in Entitlements.
So, would President Obama’s budget plan really increase deficit spending much more than other modern presidents? Well, yeah, to the tune of seven times more, measured as a percentage of economic output, than under President Kennedy over 45 years ago — as you can see in this chart.

It’s one of the 37 easy-to-follow information graphics in Heritage’s updated and expanded 2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts.
How much and how fast would our national debt go up under the Obama plan? Is it true that, amid the flood of government spending, the defense budget would fall to what it was before the 9/11 attacks?
In the Book of Charts, taxpayers will find clear answers to those questions about the new administration, along with other tax and budget trends important to them. For one: Tax rates will have to be doubled if Congress doesn’t reform Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
New features include an interactive “flash” graphic that dramatically shows that the more Americans earn, the higher their portion of total federal taxes. Click on the image to see that the top 10 percent of earners pay 71 percent of all taxes while the bottom 50 percent pay a mere 3 percent.
The new Book of Charts allows visitors to download, post or e-mail any of the 37 charts and graphs, as well as click on links to related Heritage research and analysis, including here at The Foundry. You can quickly bookmark, embed and share the data.
Nicola Moore, assistant director of Heritage’s Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, collaborated on the improved Book of Charts with research assistant Steve Keen and senior graphics editor John Fleming. Moore says:
“More than ever, concerned taxpayers — as well as journalists and members of Congress – will find Heritage’s Book of Charts to be the go-to site for details on federal spending and taxes, whether past, present or projected.”

May 12, 2009 MAS1916, Denver, CO writes:
Amazing that this chart begings its historical look with Jimmy Carter. Carter drove the economy to a disastrous train wreck in the late seventies. Obama seems intent on re-creating the crash.
Running up a massive deficit means that it has to be funded. Obama’s choices on how to do this are limited - he can borrow or he can expand the money supply. It appears very likely that He will expand the money supply and light the fuse of inflation in the very near future. This will be the middle classes’ HUGE tax increase. What Obama wouldn’t tax for, he will extract by cheapening the dollars each citizen earns and holds in savings.
If one looks at the Carter deficit and historical interest rates from that era, the only conclusion is that Obama could well be driving the economy over a cliff.
Jimmy Carter’s biggest contribution to America is that he proved the utter failure of liberal economic policies. The Obama generation of course never learned this and will have to learn the hard way. At least Carter started the Reagan Revolution.
For a look at other similarities between Obama and Jimmy Carter, you can hit:
http://firstconservative.com/blog/political-humor/political-humor-jimmy-carters-disastrous-legacy