I must be missing something

Bush is proposing a 2.5 trillion dollar budget. Supposedly, this manages the following:

• it is the “president’s most austere budget to date”
• it pushes the US federal budget deficit to “a record $427 billion”, and “is the third straight year the Bush administration will have set, in dollar terms, a deficit high.”

Austere obviously doesn’t mean small or balanced. The most common meanings are “strict or severe”, or “bare of adornment”. I’m not sure how that applies to a budget with a $427 billion deficit. To put it simply: for every $4 the US government is bringing in, they’re spending nearly $5. I’ll be damned if I know what is strict about that.

The amazing thing is that it’s not just from the supposed “War on Terror”. From the same article: “Military spending may climb to $419.3 billion”. If the US disbanded their military, reducing defence spending to $0.00, the budget would _still_ be over $8 billion in the red.

And this is the party that runs on economic management credentials???

Author: Robert Watkins

My name is Robert Watkins. I am a software developer and have been for over 20 years now. I currently work for people, but my opinions here are in no way endorsed by them (which is cool; their opinions aren’t endorsed by me either). My main professional interests are in Java development, using Agile methods, with a historical focus on building web based applications. I’m also a Mac-fan and love my iPhone, which I’m currently learning how to code for. I live and work in Brisbane, Australia, but I grew up in the Northern Territory, and still find Brisbane too cold (after 22 years here). I’m married, with two children and one cat. My politics are socialist in tendency, my religious affiliation is atheist (aka “none of the above”), my attitude is condescending and my moral standing is lying down. View all posts by Robert Watkins