So here we are on day 10 of the campaign that never ends. Never ends, but continues to find new ways to spend. Thus far John Howard has pledged $38.041 billion in various pre-poll blandishments. Kevin Rudd, fiscal conservative that he is, has so far come up with commitments worth $35.640 billion.

So let’s see, two-party preferred spending running at a daily rate of about $3.68 billion … 31 days left … that’s $114.2 billion by November 24. Which is just over a tenth of a trillion, or put another way, roughly one tenth of Peter Costello’s estimate of the entire annual value of the economy.

Guys, are you sure we can afford this?