Good point, and I'm not real happy about it. However, there may be a method to Dubya's madness. Again, I'm going to sound like a Bushie. OK, I ADMIT IT! I AM A BUSHIE!!!
Whew! Glad to come out of the closet... ;^).
Ok, where was I? Thinking about Dubya's strategery. I liken this growth in government to chumming the waters. Even before 9/11, it looked like he was giving the Democrats what they wanted in exchange for the tax cuts, like the Education bill. What he was really doing was removing a Democrat issue from the debates to come.
Now, he's talking about prescription drugs for Medicare. I think at the very least this program should be means tested. OTOH, I've got clients who are paying $20,000 or more into Medicare each year, because of their income levels, and I think they should get some benefit of that 'investment' when they reach 65.
What is not mentioned in the reportage, is that Dubya wants tort reform in conjunction with the prescription drug benefit. So, if I read this right, seniors will get their drugs for approximately $40B/year, but there should be some future benefits to come from tort reform. It took a good 10-15 years for our economy to reap the benefits of the Reagan economic plan, and I believe there is a parallel here.
And what are the Democrats griping about now that their pet issues have been 'solved'? WMD, or lack thereof, in Iraq, and filibustering an Hispanic judicial nomination who is too conservative for their tastes. Meantime, in two weeks, tax rate reductions not scheduled for three or more years will be appearing on our payroll checks.
So, government spending has increased by 8% in the short term, with a bunch of that extra money going to kick the Taliban and Saddam out of power. I'm going to trust Dubya's judgment and strategery, because I've learned:
THE LAST MAN IN THE WORLD I WOULD WANT TO PLAY POKER AGAINST IS GEORGE W. BUSH!
Thankfully, the Democrats have not learned this lesson.