The Washington Post reports that President Bush has proposed a budget that increases spending by almost 8%.

President Bush will sign legislation this week setting a 2003 budget that raises federal spending by 7.8 percent over last year, capping a remarkable two years in which the federal budget increased by 22 percent.

They appear to have tax cuts listed as an expense to the tune of $1.5 trillion. Are they counted that as part of the budget increase? I don't see how letting Americans keep more of their own money can be counted as an expenditure. It also says there is an 'overall freeze in domestic spending', which is good, although look for liberal democrats to call that a 'cut'. The only increases listed are for defense, prescription drugs, and anti-terrorism.

I also note how the Post boldly labels their chart 'a record $307 billion deficit." I guess in terms of dollar amount, it is a record. However, in relative terms, as a percentage of the total budget, it is quite small at just under 3%.