Insights, Issues & Istook

'Tis the season for Washington, DC, to roll out the gimmicks. News stories might make you yawn, saying the House or the Senate just approved a bill to spend umpteen billions of dollars. Now's the time when Congress considers the appropriations bills. Is there any control on spending? No, not much. Most spending is on automatic pilot. Programs like Medicaid, Medicare, disability and Social Security are the biggest programs, and Congress doesn't even vote anymore on the amounts they get. When they do vote, you will hear claims that some program's spending is being cut—to some that's a brag and to others it's a tragedy. But usually, there isn't any real reduction. Washington has its own foreign language: Even if the amount spent on something is more than last year, so long as it's less than somebody hoped to spend, they label it a cut. Gimmicks. For more insights, just go online to