spending is already the lowest but what i think you re getting at here is to me is a very interesting point about all this is that you ask people specific questions about the size and scope of government, about you ask philosophically about the size and scope of government, they want a small government, a lean government. they think it s too big right now. you ask them about safety net programs, they are all very pop gr you lar and as you re saying it costs money if you re going to have the kind of safety net that people in individual questions say they want. because of what eliot spitzer said, people don t know what the federal government spends money on. we re spending less and less as a percent of the economy and in absolute terms on things like aid for kids to go to college today. college is becoming unafforda e unaffordable. almost any social expenditure, we re spending less. we have an interesting graphic here. they also don t realize is at a basic level what they re pa