Penny wise, pound foolish

摘要

Glance at George Bush's new budget, released on February 6th, and you might believe this administration really cared about fiscal prudence. The three-page overview has more than 20 references to spending restraint or deficit cutting. The president brags about having kept the growth of discretionary spending (the 40% of the budget that Congress must appropriate every year) below the rate of inflation last year and pledges to do so again. Outside defence and homeland security, 141 programmes are being cut. By 2009, Mr Bush promises, the budget deficit will be down to 1.4% of GDP (see chart).