I wrote: >>For the life of me, I don't know why I didn't know why the projected surpluses of the US government are to some extent based on the assumption that certain civilian discretionary programs will continue to be cut... Did you mention this, Max?< >As the president would say, it all depends on what the definition of "cut" is...< This sounds like the standard contradiction in political economy, between exchange-value (where "cutting" is defined in money terms) and use-value (where it's defined in terms of goods or services provided). Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html