Dale,

If you can break that $400 billion down into categories I'd very much like to see it. Does it include all entitlement programs (social security, medicare, welfare, etc.)? Guess it's the former accountant in me. I do try to contain the little bastard but he's always lurking. I do know that welfare, AKA Family Support Programs, only represent about 1% of the Federal Budget. Doesn't sound like an outrageous amount of money when one considers that the annual interest on our crushing national debt was $352 billion in 2005! For any graduates of the Texas public school system, that is $352,000,000,000! Now THAT'S eye-popping! Think of all of the good that money could have gone to. A friggin national embarrassment!

Peter T.