National Taxpayers Union "spending study"

The National Taxpayers Union has completed a study of proposed spending plans (both increases and decreases) by all major Presidential candidates. Their findings:

The top-tier GOP candidates often portrayed as "conservative" (Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee) actually called for significantly larger spending hikes ($19.5 billion and $54.2 billion, respectively), than the so-called "moderate conservative" (John McCain, $6.9 billion).

Two of the eight candidates proposed sufficient spending cuts that more than offset their new spending plans: Rudy Giuliani (-$1.4 billion) and Ron Paul (-$150.1 billion).

The 2008 federal budget is approximately $2.9trillion. So a $150.1billion reduction is about a 5% reduction in spending (ignoring other factors, such as rising energy costs or staff payraises).

Tim White