Republican presidential hopeful and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been trying to break out from the bottom of the GOP pack. Recently he said, “I’m the only candidate that has actually reduced the size of government.”
PolitiFact Florida heard that and decided to check it out. Reporter Joshua Gillian says it rated half-true.
“One study (from the Cato Institute) says that he did reduce spending more than any of the other governor candidates in the GOP presidential field,” Gillin says.
But if you measure it a different way, you could get a different result.
“A Fox News one, for example, said he was fourth on that list behind Jeb Bush and Scott Walker and Rick Perry, who are both (Walker and Perry) out of the race now” Gillin said.
Gillin went on to say a big reason why government shrank during his administration is because much of the help Louisiana received in response to Hurricane Katrina expired.
SOURCES: Jindal only GOP candidate to reduce governent size?
- Email interview with Mike Reed, spokesperson for Bobby Jindal, Aug. 30, 2015
- Email interview with Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, Aug. 30, 2015
- Email interview with Alan Auerbach, professor of public finance at the University of California at Berkeley, Aug. 30, 2015
- ABC, This Week, Aug. 30, 2015
- BobbyJindal.Com, Blog, Aug. 10, 2015
- Cato Institute, Republican Candidates’ Spending Increases, Aug. 7, 2015
- Cato Institute, Revisiting Kasich’s Record on Spending, Aug. 3, 2015
- Cato Institute, Keeping Their Promises, July 21, 2015
- Columbus Dispatch, ‘Kasich disputes report that claims he dramatically increased state spending,’ Aug. 2, 2015
- Times-Picayune, Gov. Bobby Jindal says he's 'beginning to turn this state around', Oct. 12, 2011
- Fox News, Fact Check: Which Republican candidates actually cut spending?, Aug. 28, 2015