Under President Barack Obama, whom many conservatives claim is a tax-and-spend liberal, federal spending has declined after decades of increases.

Data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shows that in 1965, government spending was $118 billion. For the next 44 years, that figure steadily went up through 2009, when outlays totaled $3.5 trillion.

But starting in 2010 and for the next four years, there was no growth in nominal spending, according to libertarian Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute.

After combing through data from OMB and the Congressional Budget Office, Mitchell found government outlays from 2009 to 2014 actually went down from $3.52 trillion to $3.50 trillion.

“It hasn’t received nearly as much attention as it deserves, but there’s been a spending freeze in Washington,” Mitchell wrote in his blog.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Two Very Depressing Charts for President Obama, Two Very Encouraging Charts for America’s Taxpayers (by Dan Mitchell, International Liberty)

Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits 1789–2019 (Office of Management and Budget)

Non-Defense Share of Federal Spending Heads to 50-Year Low (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)