Holy freakin' cow! I knew that government spending was up under
this administration, but I didn't realize that it was beginning to
approach Great
Society levels.

By now everybody knows about Grover
Norquists Evil Plan to lure the federal government into a bathtub
and strangle it to death while nobody else is looking; could all this
extra spending be part of it all?

I mean, the faster we spend the money, the sooner it's all gone,
right? Very
sneaky, fellas:

Since 2001, even with record low
inflation, U.S. federal spending has increased by a massive 28.8%
(19.7% in real dollars)—with non-defense discretionary
growth of 35.7% (25.3% in real dollars)—the highest rate of
federal government growth since the presidencies of Richard Nixon and
Lyndon Johnson. This increase has resulted in the largest budget
deficits in U.S. history, over $520 billion in fiscal year 2004
alone. Furthermore, the projected spending for 2005 is a conservative
estimate, since it doesn’t include at least $50 billion for the
ongoing cost of the Iraq occupation.

I was around during the Johnson and
Nixon Administrations, but I wasn't terribly aware of my surroundings
at the time. I wish I could say that Bush is at the least making me
feel nostalgic with this drunken sailor imitation of his, but I
really can't say. I was more Captain
Kangaroo than General
Westmoreland at the time.

Spending-wise, it seems a reasonable
hypothesis that second-term presidencies are bigger budget-busters
than the first ones. Just imagine what this guy could do if we
re-elect him ... free
pork for everyone! Woo!

Of course, best to bug outta the
country by 2010 though. It's always a wise idea to be in the bathroom
when the check is presented.