Domestic Spending

The Price of Liberty Paying for America's Wars By Robert D. Hormats Times Books / 344 pages / $27.50 "In time of war and under the cloak of patriotism," proclaimed Rep. Edward Carmack of Tennessee in 1898, "the most vicious schemes of legislation obtain a foothold upon our statute books." Carmarck was not incensed with the suppression of civil liberties but by "infamous conspiracies of public plunder," such as greenbacks, income and inheritance taxes, and excess profits taxes, many of which survived the conflicts they were designed to fund.

I am extremely disappointed in Rep. John Sarbanes' opposition to an amendment that would have insisted that cuts to the Pentagon budget be a significant part of any effort to control deficit spending. The House is attempting to make sweeping cuts in federal government spending for the rest of this fiscal year, including cuts in domestic spending, diplomacy, development and international assistance. Why should the Pentagon budget be exempt from cuts? Military spending has doubled in the past 10 years and the Pentagon has a history of enormous cost overruns.

THE BUSH administration, which has orchestrated some of the largest spending increases in history, is finally trying to show that it's getting tough about federal spending. It absolutely will not tolerate any more of this Lawrence Welk stuff.You may recall that last year Congress earmarked $500,000 to renovate the North Dakota birthplace of bandleader Welk. Members of Congress whose careers have been little more than pork-grabs joined in the indignation over Congress' free-spending ways. Let's be clear: The appropriation was outrageous.

WASHINGTON -- At a time when Washington is rushing to enact a package of election-year tax relief, most Americans say they would rather use the post-Cold War "peace dividend" to boost domestic spending or reduce the deficit than to finance tax cuts, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.While Americans remain largely pessimistic about the economy, the nationwide poll found little evidence of a mounting grass-roots tax revolt that might pressure Congress to rush through the kind of anti-recession tax cuts advocated by President Bush and key Democrats.

Washington's favorite punching bag these days is the 1990 federal budget agreement, arguably the most creditable instrument of fiscal discipline our politicians have imposed on themselves in a long, long time. It has not forestalled a recession-fired spurt in the federal deficit to a new high of $362 billion. But without it, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the nation would be "in a much deeper hole."That being the case, our politicians should logically be celebrating the end of the Cold War and their consequent opportunity to slash military spending and cut the deficit.

* A petition was circulated this week in Howard, Baltimore, and Prince George's counties to solicit federal aid for the improvement of Washington Boulevard, which was considered a major defense road. The originators of the petition, the Washington-Baltimore Boulevard Improvement Association, hoped to collect signatures from 1,500 taxpayers. The petition would then be forwarded to Gov. Herbert R. O'Conor, the State Roads Commission and Maryland's representatives in the House andSenate.* The Young Men's Republican Club of Howard County held its fifth annual dinner-dance this week at Marino's Restaurant on Frederick Pike.

WASHINGTON -- Democrats intend to put more focus on economic issues as Congress returns this week for a packed December agenda while President Bush and Republicans push for release of money for the war in Iraq without conditions. House Democrats, sensing increasing unease, plan a session Friday with Wall Street executives and other financial experts to discuss the mortgage crisis, tightening credit and other problem areas. The Senate returns today and the House returns tomorrow, with Democrats hoping to move quickly on an energy bill.

Talk about being penny-wise and pound-foolish. The Bush administration has proposed some of the most drastic cuts to Head Start in the program's 43-year history. It's all for the dubious purpose of reining in domestic spending, while the cost of defense goes up and up. But few things could be more important to the nation's future than putting low-income children on an early path to educational success. Head Start gives needy children a boost by providing intellectual and social stimulation along with healthy meals.

Gus Sentementes' article on impending job losses in Maryland due to federal budget problems ("Tightening belts in Md., July 29) reads like a propaganda piece for defense contractors. The article chronicles the complaints of military contractors who stand to lose from the "sequestration" of funds built in to the 2011 congressional budget compromise. It is true that Maryland businesses would stand to lose from defense cuts via the sequestration process, and jobs would be axed. But the article ignores the broader and more hurtful cuts to domestic programs.

WASHINGTON -- Momentum appears to be building quickly within the White House for a new economic package that would include tax cuts for middle-income Americans as well as growth incentives and some extension of jobless benefits, officials said yesterday.With Republican as well as Democratic leaders acknowledging the political danger posed by the lingering effects of the recession, the White House for the first time publicly said yesterday that President Bush is considering some form of middle-income tax cut, which had been endorsed only by Democrats.