Spend, Elect, Tax.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Budget: Republican leaders have come up with their own twist on an old liberal formula. They're buying votes now at the cost of future pain.

President Bush's 2005 budget promises, among other things, that Washington's outbreak of spending and borrowing will be shortly brought under some degree of control. After a $520.7 billion deficit in the current fiscal year (ending Sept. 30), Bush projects a gap of $363.6 billion in 2005.

We'll just have to see about that. Last year at this time, Bush projected a 2004 deficit of $307.4 billion, more than $200 billion below the estimated figure now.

Why were these predictions so far off? In part because revenues were off substantially. Outlays also have risen sharply to meet the demands of a global war on terror and a prolonged nation-building engagement in Iraq.

But defense and homeland security don't account for all the spending hikes. Bush and the Republican-led Congress have had trouble holding the line in other areas.

In aid to schools, for instance, the government is expected to spend 10% more in 2004 than Bush originally sought. Estimated spending on roads and rail transit in 2004 will be 12% over the budget request.

Medicare continues to explode. A year ago, Bush budgeted $258.9 billion for it in 2004, but actual spending this year is expected to hit $271.0 billion.