In September, the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) announced
that it estimated the
federal budget deficit for the
current fiscal year would reach
$422 billion -- $56 billion less than it
had projected in January 2004. The
Bush administration calls this good
news. It's like the Detroit Tigers
claiming that finishing last, but still
one game short of the worst won-loss
record in the history of major league
baseball, is a triumph.
In reality, the CBO report confirms
what many had predicted for
some time. Our country is facing
long-term structural deficits as far as
the eye can see.
If one reads the CBO report
closely, it is hard to find anything to
cheer about. While the CBO believes
the deficit will be about 10 percent
smaller in 2004 than originally forecast,
it simultaneously forecasts that
deficits over the next five years will
be worse than the January numbers.
It also says that the public debt will
grow to nearly $6 trillion by 2009, or
about $100 billion more than had
been anticipated in January. This
confirms that under George W. Bush
we have experienced the largest fiscal
deterioration in American history,
from a record surplus of $236 billion
in 2000 to a projected record deficit
of $422 billion in 2004.
Of course, the Bush administration
doesn't seem to be satisfied
with this record. According to the
Washington Post, all the things
President Bush is promising in his reelection
campaign would cost $3 trillion
over the next 10 years -- above
and beyond the deficits already projected.
Ultimately, these larger deficits
will force more borrowing and higher
interest payments. The CBO now
forecasts that net payments on the
public debt will rise from $153 billion
this year to $302 billion by fiscal
year 2009, making it by far the
fastest-growing portion of the federal
equal in size to the combined budgets
of the U.S. Departments of
State, Treasury, Justice, Interior,
Education, Labor, Energy, and
Commerce in 2004.
While most Americans are forced to
live within their means, the Bush
administration does not feel similarly
constrained. That's unfortunate for
us, because we and our children will
have to pick up the tab.
