It’s a beautiful Sunday, and I am going to go visit my parents today.
So we’ll dispense with a Sunday Commentary.
What? You want a little something?
Well, here are some factoids to mull over, when you think about WHY conservatives are disallusioned with GOP ‘progress’ in Washington, D.C. It will also set the state for a discussion about whether a California based "What can government do for you with your tax dollars" campaign centered around bond measures will further depress conservative turnout in the Golden State:
- Total federal spending has grown 67 percent since the Republican revolution of 1994 — from $1.5 trillion in 1995 to almost $2.5 trillion last year.
- Over the last 10 years discretionary spending — the 40 percent of the budget the Congress and the president control — has increased 65 percent.
- Since Mr. Bush became president, it has jumped 49 percent.
- Even excluding spending related to Katrina, defense and homeland security, discretionary expenditures jumped 22 percent.
- Pork-barrel projects in the federal budget grew from 1,439 in fiscal 1995 to 13,997 in fiscal 2005.
- Conscious about the bad publicity in the past for "bridges to nowhere," the good lawmakers cut back on the number of earmarks, from 9,963 in 11 appropriations bills, a 29 percent decrease over last year’s 13,997. But wait. The $29 billion spent on the reduced number of pork projects actually was a 6.2 percent increase over the $27.3 billion spent the previous year.
- The 60 percent of the budget that is mandatory spending, including all the big entitlement programs, is "on autopilot" with no sign either party will take over the controls.
Read more in the two Golden Pen columns today on the main page!
Have a great day!
Jon
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