John Block Reports from Washington

The U.S. Congress is in the process of passing a supplemental spending bill with the primary objective of funding the war in Iraq. Now, I'm sure you aren't surprised to know that the Senate (in particular) has loaded it up with all kinds of goodies for the home town folks. We're never going to get the budget deficit under control unless we insist on some discipline.

Both political parties complain about the deficit, but what do they do about it? Nothing! They spend more money. Any member that supports reducing the spending level is criticized for being heartless and cruel.

No one suggests a tax increase and I'm glad. We don't want to give the Congress more money. They'll just spend it. We need to "starve the beast."

You might be interested to know what the taxpayers think is a fair level of taxation.

The answer is about 20% of income is the most that anyone should have to pay. Of course, with federal and state taxes together our rates can be much higher than that.

You may also wonder where all of your money goes that you pay in taxes. At the top of the list is defense -- consuming almost 1/4 of the tax take. Low income support programs gobble up nearly 1/5 including Medicare, food stamps, etc. Despite all the talk about cuts for the poor, the Food Stamp Program is up dramatically, even with a strong economy.

Interest on the federal debt takes 10% of our tax dollars. It's going to take more if interest rates keep going up. Federal retirement -- 4%.

Education -- 4% (federal education spending under President Bush has exploded). He still is criticized for not spending enough.

Health care -- 3% or 4%.

Veteran benefits -- 3%.

On and on -- Agriculture -- a paltry 1 %.

The point I want to get across is this. Our government is spending a huge amount ofmoney. But they don't have the courage to stop unless we tell them to do so.

Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.