Overall budget growth persists.(Correction, Please!)(Brief Article)

Spending has now gone through the roof into the stratosphere. This fiscal year, reports the Tax Foundation, the federal government will spend almost $2.3 trillion--the equivalent of nearly $24,000 per American taxpayer. Apologists for the administration and the Congress have tried to portray the 2004 increase of 5 percent as a boon because other recent annual increases have been in the 6-8 percent range. Yet, bleeding a little slower does not make one healthier. (Moreover, when official statistics are compiled, 2005 spending figures will likely reflect an increase of around 8 percent.)

Many politicians have little compunction about spending the money of others to show their generosity. The reaction to Hurricane ...