I criticized Tom for omitting, or discarding, population growth from appropriate spending levels, but the flaw in your argument is MUCH worse.

The cumulative GDP growth from 1974 through 2000 has more than doubled, yes, about 224% to be precise.

However...the whole discussion of spending is based on constant dollars (i.e. net of inflation). The cumulative CPI-U growth since 1974 is nearly 300%!! Remember those years of double-digit inflation in the late 1970's and early 1980's? Economic growth has NEVER been in the double digits.

If you're arguing for spending increases based on real economic growth net of inflation, you're actually proposing cuts, not increases in federal spending!

I still firmly believe that the best statistic is per capita constant dollars.

This little mini-recession may be a good wake-up call for all of us. We've still got a $5.8 trillion debt which needs to be paid down, and the creation of annual surpluses is no excuse to go hog wild with the pork spending...