And a major problem, in my opinion, is that we don't cull enough old
projects/expeditures.  New spending on new projects is good, but spending
that is grandfathered in (was appropriate in an earlier era) has a low
marginal return and needs to be dealt with.

John Lee


At 08:30 PM 8/11/04 -0400, Mark Wonsil wrote:
>> ...This year will mark
>> the third consecutive budget deficit after four straight years of
>surpluses
>> that reflected the economic boom of the 1990s.
>
>And since spending has gone up every single year [1], this proved Ronald
>Reagan's assertion that the way to get out of deficits is to grow out of
>them.  Indeed, spending has gone up tremendously under GWB, but more than
>half of it has been non-military.[2]
>
>Balancing taxes and revenue is a classic feed and speed problem.  In metal
>working (or wood for that matter) if you feed the material too fast, you
>slow the speed of the tool and reduce your overall progress.  If you tax too
>much then the economy slows, if you tax too little, you leave money on the
>table.  Bill Clinton's tax increases came during the beginning of a hot
>economy and raised revenues.   When the stock market bubble burst, the tax
>rate was too high and revenues fell.[1]  The terrorist attacks slowed the
>economy (speed) even more and the taxes were too heavy (feed) to produce the
>same revenue.  This is sometimes called the Laffer curve but the idea behind
>it is not new. [3]
>
>1.)
>http://www.heritage.org/research/features/budgetchartbook/charts_C/c2.html
>or http://tinyurl.com/5y4p5
>2.) http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/BG1703.cfm Or
>http://tinyurl.com/x8b9
>3.) http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1765.cfm or
>http://tinyurl.com/6xgvj
>
>For those bothered by deficits, one should ask themselves:
>
>Who'll spend more?  A compassionate conservative or a combat liberal?
>
>Mark "IMHO, They all spend too much" W.
>
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