In New York Tuesday, President Obama took on Republican opponents who accuse him of dangerously increasing the size of government and noted that the economic recovery he’s overseen has not included an increase in government jobs like those of presidents past.
From the transcript:
It’s worth noting, by the way — this is just a little aside — after there was a recession under Ronald Reagan, government employment went way up. It went up after the recessions under the first George Bush and the second George Bush. So each time there was a recession with a Republican president, we compensated by making sure that government didn’t see a drastic reduction in employment. The only time government employment has gone down during a recession has been under me. So I make that point just so you don’t buy into this whole bloated government argument that you’re hearing.
