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Re: Very good question, and answers surprised me a bit.
Davin L. — (archived)

Tom Wrote:
That is a very good question, and one I was interested in myself. It took a while to dig up Reagan proposed budget numbers, but I found them for 1982 - 1989 fiscal years.

Okay, Tom... You are pretty eff'in cool in my book. Its rare that people actually dig up numbers today AND adjust their opinions to conform to the numbers, if not to conform to my argument. ;-)

In fact, I must admit, I knew the numbers and was waiting to pounce with my 'l33tist' intellectual claws revealed.

Tom wrote:
" found that although sticking with the Reagan proposed budgets would have resulted in smaller deficits, there would have nevertheless been deficits throughout that whole period "

Yes. Reagan more-or-less got his way with Congress. The man had charizma oozing from every pore in his body. He was unopposable and unindictable (literally, as Iran Contra showed us), and the Congress knew it. This is why I guffaw every time the old 'Congress ran the deficit in the 80's, not Reagan' argument is trotted out.

Tom wrote:

" and depressed myself even further with the realization that the logarithmic growth of government seems to be inescapable "

Tom: I am not so sure that its all this doom-and-gloom. While Gov't has indeed grown over the last few hundred years, its size relative to the economy has waxed and waned based on War, Social programs and other factors.

Tom Wrote:

"Obviously more has to be done about government spending than just yelling at our President and Congress to "cut spending." The kind of deep-level reforms required to stop the juggernaut may no longer be politically possible."

Again, I am not as concerned as you are becuase of the *relative* size of the government. Its all based on how you conduct the puppet show. Throw down figures about the growth of the gov't, adjust for inflation since the 1700s and it makes even FDR Liberals like myself piss their pants.

If, however, you show the wax and wane of Gov't over the years, account for war and Social reforms and cast it against the over-all size of the economy, you see something that even Reaganite Republicans yawn over.

Give me an intelligent and literate populace capable of conducting informed debate, Foster calm rational discourse, arm them with lots of guns and ammo, and Government will never be a threat.... Especially as long as dissent is not treated as anti-patriotism and the populace elects executives based upon literacy and coherent policy.

OH, No!!... Wait a minute!!!!
;-)

Davin

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