USA ECONOMY

NY Times Editorial: The Pinocchio Budget

The president's new budget proposal is an exercise in election-year cynicism. It calls for cuts in programs President Bush knows Congress will protect and future tax cuts he knows the nation cannot afford. Meanwhile, vital domestic programs, like environmental protection and housing for the poor, wind up as the sacrificial victims.

The budget acknowledges the need to increase spending on homeland security. But the rest of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and Social Security, would be financed at less than 1 percent growth — a cut, in effect, when inflation is factored in. "Listen, government has got plenty of money," the president insisted last week. It is easy to tell people that a $2.4 trillion budget should have enough in it for everything we need. But when specifics pop to the surface, people will discover that a great deal is lacking — including fiscal responsibility.