When you’re casting your vote in the next election for small government, fiscal conservatives, remember this chart. In as much as the politicians would have you believe their messages of small government and less spending, none of them follow through. And, those who seem to crow loudest on the subject are the worst offenders.
Fascinating.
I’ve now come to the conclusion that one should listen to what the politician is against to understand what they’re doing in private. That makes for an interesting campaign!
Are those stats normalized for inflation etc. (its useful to know where these figures are coming from) ? On the subjects of big media, better leadership and the internet’s effect I wondered if you’d seen this article Mike, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/20/adam_curtis_interview/ quite an interesting read.
Lloyd, thanks for the comment and link. An interesting perspective from Curtis, there is definitely some truth in his perspective, but it’s a gross generalization and over simplification in my opinion.
Re the data, it comes from Bureau of Public Debt, US Treasury. To my knowledge, it is not adjusted for inflation.