Original article from USA Today is here.

Don't know if I would call 6.85 vs. 6.79 percent a glaring difference, but there it is.

I would give a lot to see the original data. These numbers are averages, and I would like to see state-by-state figures. The all-Democratic state of California, for example, has increased spending an average of 9 percent per year over the past four years.

Also, there are legitimate--or partially legitimate--reasons for increasing spending, like population increase. This varies by state...was it factored in? How about other variables, like revenue sources?

The most frugal combination: a Republican legislature and a Democratic governor.

Hmmm...maybe on the national scale this is the real secret behind the surplus of the late 1990s? The Republicans took Congress for the first time in decades in 1994.

Damn...I changed my mind. I want to vote for Gore! ;)