At the beginning of the Reagan administration--two and a half decades ago--the total federal debt was slightly less than a trillion dollars--and total federal revenues were $599 billion.

So a Republican Congress that inherited a surplus from a liberal Democratic president could have been forgiven for quaking at the prospect of raising the debt limit to $9 trillion last month--representing an 800% increase in federal liabilities since 1980, or an average 31% noncompounded annual increase for every year since 1980.

Even more alarming--far from being concentrated in defense, antiterrorism, or even entitlements--the spending increases during the first seven years of the Bush administration have been more or less across the board. In fact, with the exception of Agriculture, every budget category has witnessed at least a 3% annual increase. And with the additional exceptions of Interest, Community Development, and Housing, every budget category has climbed by at least 6% during the Bush administration. . . .

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