THE 1995 FEDERAL BUDGET : Between the Lines

Odds and ends on the 1995 federal budgets:

SOUNDBITES

Doubt that things are getting better? Check this snappy collection of printed soundbites, p. 33 of the budget book.

Last president with three years of consecutive deficit declines: Truman.

Number of Americans who saved money refinancing their mortgages, 1993: 5.4 million.

Additional children enrolled in Head Start by 1995 (over 1993): 126,000.

Some entries are calculated to show that things have not changed. For instance, average defense budgets of Clinton and three Republicans in 1995 dollars:

Eisenhower: $243.3 billion.

Ford: $249.8 billion.

Nixon: $254.8 billion.

Clinton, $252.2 billion.

*

WEIGHT GAIN

President Clinton’s 1995 budget is a much heftier tome than his 1994 fiscal document--almost four pounds heavier and an inch-and-a-half thicker. That’s because this year, his wish list is spread among five books instead of consolidated in one. Clinton’s 1995 proposal costs contains 22 times as many charts and three times the number of tables.

A look at the five documents:

Size: 8 inches by 11 inches by 3.8 inches

Pages: 2,038

Weight: 9 pounds

Cover: White borders with presidential seal on blue background

Charts and graphs: 45

Price: $100 (information on buying books available at (202) 783-3238

*

BIG THINKERS

Former budget director Richard Darman compared the federal deficit to Cookie Monster, the voracious Sesame Street muppet, in one of his Bush-era budgets. With Clinton and Budget Director Leon E. Panetta, we’ve graduated to Plato. “The first step, as you know, is always what matters most, particularly when we are dealing with those who are young and tender,” the budget book says, quoting from “The Republic.” Fast forward from the 4th century B.C. to the waning years of the 20th century A.D. “Several millennia later, numerous scientific studies confirm Plato’s suppositions about the importance of investing in our children,” says the budget book, seamlessly segueing into proposed increases in Head Start, immunization and nutrition programs.

Source: Times staff and wire reports