ABC: Without ‘creative White House accounting,’ Bush’s deficit is actually $600 billion

[RedEarth]

Yesterday, the White House “increased its estimate for next year’s deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office.” But, on ABC News’s Good Morning America today, Claire Shipman reported that the deficit is actually much higher because “creative White House accounting” didn’t include the war, the unemployment costs, Medicare fees, or the housing bill in its calculations. If those numbers are included, it brings “the grand total to about $600 billion.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/29/abc-without-creative-white-house-accounting-bushs-deficit-is-actually-600-billion/

[Jack Rabbit]

1. Good luck, President Obama

You'll need it.

[musette_sf]

2. **ABC** mentioned "creative WH acctg"???

will wonders never cease?

[Solly Mack]

3. ah...fuzzy math

What does Bush care? Off he walks, into the sunset, above the law

[Ian David]

4. $100 billion here... $100 billion there... and eventually you're talking about real money. n/t