Obama's bloated budget builds on Bush precedents.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Barack Obama, George W. Bush

Pres. Barack Obama has introduced his Federal budget plan for the coming years and it contains large increases in spending, taxes, and debt. The Obama plan includes the costs of recent financial bailouts and the stimulus package, but also foresees a long-term rise in regular domestic spending. The plan builds on precedents set by Pres. George W. Bush, and would boost nondefense outlays to a record share of the economy, notes Chris Edwards, director of Tax Policy at the Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.

Obama's budget promises to save money by reforming procurement and cutting various types of waste, but its main thrust is to boost spending on health care, energy subsidies, college aid, refundable tax credits, and other items. Even after the current spike in outlays caused by the stimulus bill and financial bailouts, Obama is planning to spend at permanently higher levels. By 2019, nondefense spending would hit 17% of gross domestic product, a 30% higher share of the economy than under Pres. Bill Clinton in the late 1990s--and that large expansion under-state's Obama's plans because it includes only a fraction of the costs of his health care proposal, Edwards explains.

The boldness of Obama's plans partly is attributable to the spendthrift example set by Bush, who ramped up defense and nondefense outlays. Even excluding recent financial bailouts and the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, real nondefense spending increased an average of 4.2% annually under eight years of the previous Administration. In crucial ways, Bush's domestic policy paved the way for Obama's expansionist plans. Edwards points out some of the ways that Obama is building on the Bush legacy:

Deficit spending. Bush favored large increases, even in years with big deficits. Obama titled his budget "A New Era of Responsibility," but his huge deficit spending will push up public debt as a share of GDP to levels not seen since the 1940s.

Keynesianism. While some of the Bush tax cuts were pro-growth, many of his policies were marketed on the faulty idea of fueling short-term aggregate demand. Bush's temporary tax cuts and financial bailouts laid the groundwork for similar Obama polities.

Undermining federalism. Bush increased Federal intervention into state and local affairs, such as with his education subsidies and mandates. The stimulus bill and Obama's first budget further intervene in education and other state activities, which undermine the Constitution and nullify the...