Shocker! Democrats SHRANK federal spending, deficit in 2010

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Here's something you would never know if you only listen to talk radio and FAUX News: Democrats shrank US spending, deficit in last fiscal year, figures show:

The US deficit shrank nine percent last fiscal year but still topped one trillion dollars, the government said Friday in a report[.]

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For the 2010 fiscal year that ended on September 30, the government had a budget shortfall of 1.294 trillion dollars, down 122 billion dollars from the previous year's record-setting high.

For purposes of clarification, the federal fiscal year begins on October 1. The FY 2009 budget was enacted in 2008, the last budget of George W. Bush. The FY 2010 budget was enacted in 2009, President Obama's first budget. The 2009 budget deficit was a record 1.416 trillion dollars, a result of the Bush Great Recession, the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression.

Revenue rose and spending fell amid recovery from recession and as President Barack Obama's Democratic administration wound down some of the emergency measures taken to restore growth.

The final figures "underscored the administration's commitment" to cutting the massive government deficit, Treasury Secretary TimothyGeithner said in a statement.

"By carefully managing the emergency initiatives to stop the financial panic and by accelerating our exit from those investments, we have significantly lowered the cost to taxpayers, bringing the costs of the financial rescue down by more than 240 billion dollars this year."

The deficit's ratio to economic output fell to 8.9 percent of grossdomestic product, down from 10.0 percent of GDP in fiscal 2009.

[I]n dollar terms, the federal deficit topped one trillion dollars for the second year running.

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The government took in three percent more revenue in 2010 than a year ago, at 2.162 trillion dollars. It was the first time receipts had increased after two years of decline.

But it spent more than it took in, 3.456 trillion dollars, although that was two percent less than in 2009 and the fastest one-year reduction since 1984.

Republicans like to claim they are the party of fiscal responsibility, but history has shown that they never demonstrated it in practice. As I have said before, history demonstrates that Democratic Presidents Are Always Better For The Economy – Always (If the graphics no longer work, go to the Jon Perr article which you can also find at www.perrspectives.com).