More Fuzzy Math

I didn't graduate from Harvard Law School. I can't afford to wear designer sneakers. And my husband and I definitely didn't pull in more than $2 million last year.

But I'm a natural at basic math -- without a calculator. And I can tell you, with absolute certainty, there's no way our mint-'em-and-spend-'em government is going to reduce the federal deficit by even $10 at the rate it's going.

Remember when President Obama committed, with a lot of fanfare, to cutting $17 billion in wasteful government spending next year? Well, that was last week.

Today, the White House budget office revealed that thanks to the misguided Wall Street bailout and the Democrats' bloated economic stimulus bill -- OK, the budget office didn't use those exact words -- the deficit for this year is going to be $89 billion more than what the president told us last week. That's five times the "savings" he had promised us for next year. And it adds up to more than $1.8 trillion in red ink for 2009 alone.

Next year, the president plans to add another $1.3 trillion to our national debt.(Hey, it could be worse. Remember the $17 billion he's going to save us!) Of course, that $1.3 trillion is today's forecast. By time the Democratic Congress gets done with the 2010 budget, you can bet the farm that we're going to owe a whole lot more.

What this all means is that we're borrowing 46 cents for every dollar the government spends.

Look on the bright side. We individaully may not have the ability to get a mortgage, extend our line of credit or qualify for an auto, small business or student loan, but thanks to the generosity and far-sightedness of our leaders, we can rest assured that we'll spend the rest of our lives head over heels in national debt.