4/5 of the $5trillion is from policies enacted before he took office. Unemployment is higher, but job growth is about +1million per month
Spending was high when he took office. He would have had to made major cuts to change the deficit picture, cuts that couldn't be made because of two wars and a recession. Anyone who has a basic understanding of economics knows that spending cuts are the worst thing that can be done for an economy during a recession. For example, look up the jobs projections if the fiscal cliff deadline hits and the cuts are made. In any case, attributing the $5 trillion to him is either ignorance of the facts or intentional distortion of them
• In the 2009 fiscal year — the last of George W. Bush’s presidency — federal spending rose by
17.9% from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. Check the official numbers at the Office of Management and Budget.
• In fiscal 2010 — the first budget under Obama — spending
fell 1.8% to $3.46 trillion.
• In fiscal 2011, spending rose 4.3% to $3.60 trillion.
• In fiscal 2012, spending is set to rise 0.7% to $3.63 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of the budget that was agreed to last August.
• Finally in fiscal 2013 — the final budget of Obama’s term — spending is scheduled to fall 1.3% to $3.58 trillion.
Obama spending binge never happened - MarketWatch