Monday, February 07, 2005This must be that "new math" I've heard people talk aboutFrom the Center for American Progress: President Bush is relying on some highly manipulative math tricks to meet his far-reaching goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009. To begin with, though he has vowed to cut the 2004 deficit in half, he is not starting with the actual 2004 deficit but rather "the projected $521-billion deficit" from the OMB's year-old estimate. By using the estimated figure, President Bush conveniently is dealing with a deficit that is $54.5 billion less. Another example is that the proposed deficit halving is "not in dollars but as a share of the economy," which makes the incredible shrinking deficit decline when the economy grows, as it is expected to, "even if it does not shrink by a single dollar." On top of all this, the budget does not include the $80 billion supplement for Iraq and Afghanistan nor the $754 billion costs of the proposed Social Security private investment accounts. As Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution puts things, "It doesn't quite compute." CAP has much, much more. posted by chris at 1:32 PM ------------------ |
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