I was amused by a bumper sticker I saw recently: “Had enough? Vote Democrat!”

With the new change of leadership in the House and Senate, I guess I was thinking the bumper-sticker conclusion wouldn’t make much sense. In the five short months since the election, these good folks have produced an increase of spending in the House ($20 billion) and the Senate ($18 billion).

I have had enough. But I didn’t come to the same conclusion as the person sporting the bumper sticker. I can’t afford these good people in Washington for too much longer. It seems that they spend it faster than I can make it. Included on the shopping list that I’ll be paying for to support our troops are:

— $25 million subsidy for spinach growers.

— $120 million for the shrimp industry.

— $74 million for peanut storage.

— $5 million for shellfish, oysters and clam producers.

— $425 million for educational grants for rural areas.

— $24 million for sugar beet growers.

— $22.8 million for geothermal research and development.

— $25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol power plant.

— $20 million for reimbursements for Nevada insect damage.

— $75 million for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency.

— $3.5 million for guided tours to the Capitol.

— $283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program.

— $6.4 million for the House of Representatives’ salaries and expense accounts.
The national budget has the smell of bacon, sowbelly, pork rinds and ham hocks. I know I’ve had enough!

How are young families going to make ends meet with spending like this? I think I’ll give Sen. Harry Reid (202-224-3542) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (202-225-4965) a call. Maybe you should too — unless, of course, you haven’t had enough.

— John McIntosh, Simi Valley