The plan, which calls for tax cuts for favored industries, reflects Mr. Mahathir's philosophy of spending more to bolster corporate health and create employment.

That is a horrible precedent, essentially endorsing the use of funny numbers for favored industries.

Such a claim would, in any event, be impossible to defend, as just about every midnight regulation being proposed is, evidently, a gift to a favored industry.

Conservatives worry that Republicans are interfering too much in the marketplace and embarking on a misguided effort to subsidize favored industries.

The Democratic Party favored moderate tariffs used for government revenue only, while the Whigs favored higher protective tariffs to protect favored industries.

South Korea's growth has been modeled to some extent on Japan's, with the Government subsidizing favored industries and protecting them from imports.

Four drug issues - incidentally, a favored industry of many money managers - appear in the current list.

In particular, the government of Venezuela continued spending on social welfare programs and subsidies for commodities and public services at the same levels (also subsidies for favored industries).

In their youth the favored industries are protected at home from foreign competition, with tariffs, quotas and internal distribution networks that impede any but their own goods.

The arguments for the president's tax cuts for the wealthy and billions in handouts to favored industries now lie in tatters.