President Bill Clinton in 1996: “The era of big government is (NOT!) over” — 13 years later

Exposing Faux Capitalism
October 12, 2009

On January 27, 1996, President Bill Clinton stated during his 1996 State of the Union Address, “The era of big government is over.”

The federal budget numbers are from the 1996 and 2009 budgets.

THEN: No government bailouts

NOW: Bailouts could reach $23.7 trillion

THEN: Total federal spending was $1.61 trillion

NOW: $3.1 trillion

THEN: Government was already big.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

NOW: The PATRIOT Act, Department of Homeland Security, two unconstitutional wars, federalization of the National Guard, warrantless wiretaps, 30+ “Czars.”

THEN: Defense spending was $262.2 billion

NOW: $651.1 billion

THEN: The federal debt was $5.27 trillion

NOW: $10.41 trillion

THEN: “Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades.”

NOW: The economy is the worst it’s been in six decades.

THEN: “We have the lowest combined rates of unemployment and inflation in 27 years.”

NOW: The highest rate of unemployment in 26 years.

THEN: “America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time since the 1970s.”

NOW:  GM and Chrysler went bankrupt, Toyota overtook GM as the world’s largest car producer in 2008 for the first time ever.

THEN: “And for three years in a row, we have had a record number of new businesses started in our country.”

NOW: The highest number of bankruptcies in the past four years since the 2005 bankruptcy overhaul.

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