By the Way…

You have won! Three years ago, we announced a contest: What reader could come closest in guessing the size of Ronald Reagan's final budget? We naturally expected that figure to be much larger than the $1.26 trillion projected by Reagan back then. But we were wrong, as were all of you who entered our Waste, Fraud, and Abuse contest. In January, Reagan asked Congress for $1.09 trillion for fiscal year 1989.

Our most optimistic contestant—and the winner—is Darryl Creighton, who guessed $1.35 trillion. He wins two free passes to Reason's anniversary banquet this fall. And W.D. Smith wins the sheet music to "Hey, Big Spender" for taking second, with $1.3716 trillion. (Mr. Smith, wouldn't you rather have a REASON T-shirt?)