WASHINGTON, July 15 — The White House today projected a $455 billion budget deficit in the current fiscal year, by far the government’s largest deficit ever and $150 billion higher than what the administration predicted just five months ago.
Democratic lawmakers said the new calculations showed the folly of President Bush’s tax cuts and demonstrated that he was mismanaging the economy.
But Joshua B. Bolten, Mr. Bush’s new budget director, said a deficit of this magnitude was “manageable if we continue pro-growth economic policies and exercise serious spending discipline.”
“Serious spending displine.” As is often the case these days, I really don’t know whether to laugh or cry.