Spending Spree

OK, it's official--the Administration is forecasting a 1997 deficit of $37 billion, a 23-year low.

With a budget surplus almost around the corner, there's loud chatter in right-wing circles about how to spend the money.

"It's going to be a race to see whether we can use it to cut taxes and retire the debt before the Left can use it to nationalize the health care system," says the Cato Institute's Stephen Moore.

Any money scramble that does take place won't last long, of course: paying for retirement benefits for aging baby boomers early in the next century will more than soak up excess government cash.