Deficit Disorder
5th Sep 2005, 12:40 GMT
Every two years the Congressional Budget Office publishes a fact-filled report called "Budget Options." This year's version is 343 pages, and flipping through it gives a quick tour of the federal government's far-flung activities. The Army Corps of Engineers spends about $800 million annually to maintain the inland waterways, the Office of National Drug Control Policy buys about $100 million in anti-drug ads and the Department of Transportation provides about $100 million in subsidies for "essential" air service to small communities.