Bloated Budgets

During his speech the other night President Obama put in a dig at the Bush administration, complaining about the budget deficit "we inherited." Sorry, Mr. Obama; that won't wash any more. Any budget you put forward or sign from now on is your budget.

And I'm not encouraged that the budget you are unveiling today represents an 8 percent increase over last year. So while the economy is in recession, and American families are being forced to cut back, government spending just keeps rising. Who else is getting such an increase this year, other than the Wall Street execs you love to demonize? I know a lot of people who have gotten pay cuts of 10 or 20 percent, and some who have actually lost their jobs (but none in government).

Plus, in your speech you promised to oppose earmarks, those "porky" amendments put in by members of Congress, usually for their districts. Well, Harry Reid apparently told you to put your earmark ban where the sun don't shine, because this bill is loaded with earmarks, worth billions of dollars.

While earmarks are definitely chump change in a bloated budget such as this one, you could set a new tone for your administration (and even garner some real bipartisan support) by threatening to veto this largesse when we should be in a time of austerity. Go ahead, Mr. President. Take a stand, even a symbolic one, for fiscal sanity. The American people will support you.

Then you need to take a sober look at all other the spending that has taken place since the fall, courtesy of you and the Bush administration. One of the highlights of the Obama administration is how it can undermine long-held stereotypes. Unfortunately, the president and his compatriots in Congress seem to be playing to the easy stereotype of Democrats as big spenders who increase government the first chance they get.

If that doesn't change, Team Obama will eventually pay a big price at the polls-even bigger than the current bloated budgets. If you want to earn the right to run things for a long time, you can, but you'll have to play against type.

The list below gives a rough snapshot of where we are right now. Forgive me if I'm off by a billion here or a billion there; it's hard to keep track of all the spending. These items do not include specific bailouts to AIG, the auto industry, the banks, and the like.

- Bailout I, $700 billion;

- Bailout II, $787 billion;

- Mortgage Bailout, $275 billion;

- New budget, $4 triillion;

- Fund to nationalize healthcare, $634 billion.

Who's going to pay for all this spending? The top 2 percent alone? Us? Our children? Our grandchildren? Or are we going to borrow from foreigners, and on what terms?

Something tells me we'll all have to learn Mandarin Chinese.