Then and now on a budgetary spending freeze

As we prepare for tomorrow’s State of the Union Speech, it is interesting to point out that during the campaign, President Obama took great lengths to express his opposition to an across the board spending freeze. He likened a freeze to using a hatchet while he wanted to take a scalpel to the federal budget.

During his first year in office, President Obama increased non-defense discretionary spending by 20% - the largest one year increase in over three decades. This is important because when he introduced his first budget a year ago, he promised to decrease discretionary spending.

Tomorrow night, we’ll see exactly how small a scalpel the president wants to use against the budget.