1.   All the spending to bring in new clients has diverted attention from customer service, Payne said.

2.   It increased value-added taxes, improved tax collection and reduced government spending to bring down the fiscal deficit before the oil windfall began rolling in.

3.   Thurmond is a political legend at home, a conservative who has risen above his distaste for government spending to bring the bacon back to South Carolina.

4.   Simitis has been trying to slash state spending in order to bring Greece in line with other European Union countries seeking to unify their economies.