It couldn't last, and now comes the torture of sharp cutbacks.

The slowdown that hit the nation more than a year ago came mostly from a sharp cutback in business investment, not consumer spending.

Aggravating the problem, the financial crisis has led to sharp cutbacks in food imports.

"We just don't do the sharp cutbacks a day and a half after revenue falls."

It would also provide security for the program at a time of sharp fiscal cutbacks in higher education.

In its optimism, therefore, it is a far cry from the sharp cutbacks of recent recession years.

Part of the fallout from Detroit's population drain has been a sharp cutback in city services.

For many medical journals, sharp cutbacks in drug company advertising - 30 percent or more - have reduced earnings.

If Congress is unwilling to to take that action, then the committee recommends a sharp cutback in the rule's application.

The emphasis on new public spending also reflects a slow increase in support for some government programs after the sharp cutbacks of the 1980's.