Claim: Sarah Palin is a fiscal conservative who cuts spending Truth: As both Mayor of Wassila and Governor of Alaska, Palin has overseen large increases in spending
The local press in Alaska know her best, so let's let them tell it like it is. From the September 6, 2008 edition of the Alaska News Miner:
FAIRBANKS — Gov. Sarah Palin has from the get-go pitched herself to Alaskans as a fiscal conservative, someone who can rein in government growth. Now, as the vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party, she continues to present fiscal restraint as a hallmark trait. Conservative commentators and organizations have chimed in with praise in the days following her selection by Sen. John McCain as his running mate.
But state general fund spending has risen sharply in the 21 months since Palin took office. The budget she signed earlier this year for fiscal 2009 spent $5 billion from the state’s general fund — a 34 percent increase over the budget she proposed for fiscal 2008 not long after taking office.