"We are better than these last eight years." Barack Obama, 28 August 2008.
"Republican rule on Capitol Hill drew to an exhausted end just before dawn on Dec. 9 after lawmakers dispatched a pile of bills that few had read and even fewer had helped write. Democrats say the era of such chaotic and secretive legislating came to a close as well." The New York Times, 23 December 2006. 
Hoven's Index for March, 2011
Federal receipts/revenues as percentage of Gross Domestic Product:
1960-2000 average: 18.2%
2006: 18.2%
2007: 18.5%
2008: 17.5%
2009: 14.9%
2010: 14.9%
2011: 14.4%
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