White House Projects Record $455B Deficit (Breaks daddy Bush's record)

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=716&e=4&u=/ap/20030715/ap_on_go_pr_wh/worsening_deficit

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration projected Tuesday that this year's federal deficit will surge to a record $455 billion, underscoring the toll that recession, tax cuts and the costs of fighting terrorism are taking on the government's books.

The White House also estimated that next year's budget shortfall will hit $475 billion, though the red ink will ease downward to $226 billion in 2008, according to the figures obtained by The Associated Press.

Those figures accentuate that though the White House expects the huge shortfalls to begin to decline, they remain a long-term concern — especially with the huge baby boom population ready to start retiring later this decade.

The numbers, to be unveiled later in the day by the White House, were described by a Republican who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Before their release, White House spokesman Scott McClellan tried to put the best face on the figures, which easily exceeded the record $290 billion deficit recorded in 1992.

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[underpants]

1. I thought O'Neill's report said $44 TRILLION oh this is just one year

My bad, er actually their bad.

Well W brought his work experience with him, this is par for the course with that __________________ (fill in the blank).

[Paschall]

2. So can we safely say the real figure is around $600 billion?

Democrats say if anything, the real deficit will be worse than the administration's budget projections because the White House was expected to exclude some items like the costs of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

[midnitemoleman]

3. If you were wondering why Ari left in a hurry...

Ta daaa! It's history in the makeing, just not the good kind!

[ignatius]

4. This is the Bush CEO way of doing "bizness,:

privatize the profits...socialize the expenses.

This is called raping the treasury in third world countries.

[Neutrino]

5. Social Security is NOT in that number, so

$600Bil is more accurate figure.

[Proud_American]

6. Why are republicans incapable of displaying consistency?...

If turning CA's surplus into a deficit is reason for recalling Davis then why aren't the same people screaming to recall * for doing the same thing on a much larger national scale?