When Donald Trump isn t busy insulting Gold Star families or inciting his followers to assassinate his presidential opponent, he spends a lot of time talking about the dreadful Obama economy   one in which, admittedly, growth is slow. A new study, though, shows that Trump is pointing his stumpy finger in the wrong direction. The blame lies squarely with his Republican party.The report was published by the Economic Policy Institute. It blames Republican austerity, not Democratic spending, for the fact that economic growth was just 1.2 percent during the second quarter, and frankly, it hasn t been spectacular for a long time. It s easy to blame the man in the White House, which is what Republicans do, but they are wrong.The EPI places the blame on 2011 s Republican budget cuts, fiscal austerity at the state and local levels, GOP states  refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Instead of cutting spending during the recovery from the Great Recession, we should have been spending more   specifically on infrastructure and on programs that help people.This economic recovery has been the slowest over the past four business cycles. For example, the employment recovery from the trough of the Great Recession to its pre-recession peak took 51 months. Following the recession in the 1980s, employment recovery took 11 months. In the early 1990s it took 23 months, and in the early 2000s it took 39 months.The US government would have had to spend an additional $1tn in 2015 alone to match the spending that followed the 1980s recession, Bivens said. While such spending might run up the US deficit   something Republicans in Congress are opposed to   it would also have led to  several years of full employment  and the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates.Source: The GuardianAnother problem is the low interest rates. During the recovery from the 80s recession, the interest rates started at 9.3 percent. Now, with interest rates approaching 0 percent, and have been for a long time, there s no place to move them.The study does place some blame on the Obama administration, though. He didn t make effective enough use of the bully pulpit.The Obama administration  could have made a louder and more consistent case that the slow recovery had concrete, identifiable roots in decisions made by the Congress,  Bivens wrote.  Had the Obama administration made such a powerful case for why austerity was hampering growth, it could have educated the public and potentially helped build support for more sensible policy the next time the United States faces a recession. Featured image via Darren Hauck at Getty Images. 