What? Supplemental?

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was speaking on the phone the other day to the good Smallholder. We chatted about the ususal stuff and before too long, we were off talking politics. Notwithstanding the comment the Smallholder made concerning your Maximum Leader being an apologist for the Bush Administration (a claim your Maximum Leader denies by the way) we were in agreement on one issue. The President's budget is waaaaay too big.

Indeed, when you Maximum Leader heard that the Administration was pushing to cut or eliminate 150 programs your Maximum Leader thought to himself, "What? They could only come up with 150?" Needless to say, your Maximum Leader isn't too pleased in this department. There is much more that could be cut or eliminated.

Now your Maximum Leader learns that the Administration is requesting $82 billion more for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Tsunami relief. Here is the story on the wire. This is even more irksome than the regular budget. First off, why is this a supplemental? It couldn't have been a surprise that the US was going to spend money in Iraq, Afghanistan, and on Tsunami relief. (Okay, your Maximum Leader will withdraw the Tsunami relief bit... That is a legitimate use of the Supplemental spending request.) Surely people preparing the budget would have a notion that we'd still be in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. They could have ballparked a number.

The real reason this was done was political. In a purely Machiavellian sense your Maximum Leader does approve and appaud what the Administration is doing. Sending the request as a supplemental budget item and require that it be voted on separately from the rest of the budget. This way you have an issue to use (as they did against Senator Kerry in the late election) against opponents. And linking the Iraq and Afghanistan money to Tsunami relief is an added plus in the politics department.

But it is all so transparent as to lose points too. The Administration's Strategery on this one is too clear for it to be diabolical. The Administration will hem and haw and say that "we don't know how much stuff will cost so that is why we are doing it this way." That is a load. Plenty of other programs operate by budgeting their best guess and then asking for more (in a supplemental spending request) if they start to go over. That is the way it should be done.

Of course, your Maximum Leader doesn't understand why he is getting worked up about this. Because the Congressional Republicans haven't proven themselves to be fiscally conservative. They spend money like drunken sailors.

Then again, Congressional Democrats spend money like drunken sailors with credit cards in hand.

Carry on.