Budget Deficit

According to Administration estimates the budget deficit, currently at $337 billion, will be cut in half by 2009 and will become a surplus in 2012. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), however, takes a more realistic view of the next decade. It adds in some items that are obviously in our future but which the Administration treats as if they are in a parallel universe not worthy of being considered in budget discussions. These include our continued presence in Iraq and Afghanistan; fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax so that it does not hit the middle class; and extending the Bush tax cuts. When these three are added to the existing budget in the CBO analysis, the deficit never falls under $300 billion during the next decade and rises to $400 billion by 2016; not the $67 billion dollar surplus projected by the Administration