BUDGET USA

The federal government will spend nearly $3 trillion this year, which is about a trillion dollars more than when George W. Bush took office. The United States is a big, rich country, with a central government that is arguably the most powerful secular institution ever to exist on this planet -- a government that makes the Roman Empire look like a bowling league.

But anyone who looks closely at the budget quickly gets a scrunched-up brow. The "mandatory" portion of the budget, the entitlement programs, is surging. Health care is a grave concern. Baby boomers are reaching retirement and they're all going to want new hips.