ABSTRACT
The basic problem is that in Washington "cuts" are measured not against current expenditures, but against a fantasy "baseline" of what outlays would be if officials spent as much as they wanted. Few Americans are aware of the plethora of activities in which the federal government is engaged. More than anything else, the President's commitment to spending more on wasteful pork demonstrates the importance of making the federal government live within its means. If the president attempts to maintain his present spendthrift course it will be up to Congress—led by moderate Democrats, in particular—to impose some fiscal discipline. But legislators are more likely to defy the president if their taxpaying constituents state loudly and clearly that they like the new Democratic president's "spend and tax" policies no more than the old Democratic presidents' "tax and spend" policies.
