The problem is in the tax code, which continues to punish risk-taking and hard work. Measured against the first Reagan budget, this is a 42.8 percent increase. And, to show how much government spending has grown, the NTU figures show a 99 percent spending increase in real terms over the 1972 budget. The Bush figures still keep spending at record high levels. No entitlement program is cut.
Some pork is slashed, which is a major reason some congresspersons are howling like stuck pigs.
Most of the budget reflects a slowdown in the spending increases. The current President Bush is right to begin to ease up on the accelerator. Critics say Bush is not only putting on the brakes but also throwing government into reverse. This is a lie, but people who get their news solely from television are likely to believe it if liberals in the media and in Congress keep repeating it. The facts are available on the NTU and Heritage Foundation Web pages if people will take a few minutes to read them and respond accordingly to their elected leaders.