Quote of the Day

President Bush's inability to control the federal budget demonstrates yet again that democracy's inclination toward excessive spending is as powerful as a force of nature. The past two years' outrageous 8.2% annual increase in domestic discretionary spending is unfortunately only the latest example of excessive government spending. Since the beginning of the century, domestic federal spending has increased more than tenfold from less than 2% of Gross Domestic Product to close to 20% today. As the quantity of spending has increased, moreover, the quality has declined, with larger proportions going to transfers from one group of citizens to another rather than to public goods. From John O. McGinnis and Michael B. Rappaport in yesterday's WSJ.