What Does Obama's Runaway Government Spending on Social Programs Look Like?

My conservative friends keep telling me that under the Obama administration there has been something called “runaway spending” on social programs. So I’m going to try to find it.

The big three social programs are health care, education and welfare. But wait, almost all of the growth in these programs took place under budgets approved during the Bush years! And social spending has been flat or declining throughout the Obama years.

Maybe there are some other programs where there is runaway growth? My conservative friends tell me that government is just too big and costs too much. Maybe there are runaway costs for general government, transportation or other spending?

Nope! Except for a spike in 2009, after the last year of Bush, there is no evidence of runaway spending. In fact, it looks like spending is going down.

It’s probably in defense or protection?

Wrong again! All of that growth took place during the Bush years and spending is down.

It has to be interest payments on debt!

How many times can we be wrong? The Obama administration has done a great job of reducing the interest paid to service debt.

I’ve got it … its pensions … Social Security spending is out of control.

This is seriously old. Social Security growth is pretty much the same as it has been for decades and just reflects a growing population of retirees.

Is it possible that there isn’t actually any runaway growth in the Obama years?

Apparently not.

At least we know one thing … under Obama the deficit has grown out of control … hasn’t it?

Even the deficit is shrinking under the Obama administration. Of course it  grew dramatically the last year Bush was in office. But it has been coming down ever since.

Maybe there are just a lot of people who are telling one another how the government is growing out of control under Obama? Maybe they are wrong? Maybe they don’t care that they are wrong? Maybe they have other reasons for disliking Obama?

I think I have figured it out! 

Obama is Irish!

Addendum:

I want to be very clear that I am NOT blaming or giving credit to President Barack Obama for any of the spending trends. Congress, not the President, is responsible for spending. The purpose of this article was to demonstrate the absurd assertions made by conservatives that under the Obama administration there has been something called “runaway spending” on social programs.