But subcommittee members heaped extravagant praise on the Mayor's way with a budget ax.

The question they must address is when the budget ax should fall and just how big a piece of the problem it should try to solve.

Even the White House failed to escape the Republicans' budget ax.

But even here, the budget ax has fallen, and in recent years the gifted program has been cut in half.

And since the wealthy are well represented in our political system, their favored programs may seem safe from the budget ax.

C11 Arts again face the budget ax.

The budget ax is swinging, they said, and the agency, as an easy target, got sliced.

The most likely target for the budget ax would be Medicaid, the health care program for the poor and some of the middle-class elderly.

The budget ax is swinging in Alabama, and the carnage is piling up.

It was not Mr. Dilbeck's first experience with the budget ax.