> you look other-worldy denying that government spending
> has risen a lot.
I'm not denying it; I'm just asking: so what?
> Nominal spending rose almost 30% between the end of 2007
> and the 2nd quarter of 2010, a time when nominal GDP is up 2%.
And if you look at these two graphs:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?chart_type=line&s[1][id]=FGCE&s[1][range]=5yrs http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?chart_type=line&s[1][id]=GDP&s[1][range]=5yrs
(sorry if you can't click those; be sure to cut and paste; who is the idiot who thought putting brackets into a URL would be a good idea?)
... you can see exactly why that is: a HUGE drop in overall GDP during the recession that the rise in government spending didn't quite make up for.
Take a longer view look:
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/GDP?cid=106
US nominal GDP is going to the moon! What on earth could be your point, other than to chime in with those who say "Government is too big" ...?
/jordan