SpringfieldNewsSun.com

WASHINGTON — The White House continues to insist that persistent budget deficits

will disappear and surpluses

resume by 2012, long after President Bush leaves office.

Critics say such projections are wildly optimistic. Bush's latest budget includes only $70 billion for the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is widely expected to be a drain on the nation's coffers for many years.

The Bush budget also reflects just a one-year extension of a "patch" for the alternative minimum tax. Over time, the cost of fixing that unpopular tax system quirk will be far higher.

Bush's budget also is based on optimistic forecasts for the economy. The administration sees economic growth of 2.7 percent this year, with a 3 percent gain next year. Many economists believe the outlook is much less rosy, with some predicting a recession this year.

To hold down spending, Bush is proposing almost no growth in domestic outlays in 2009. He also wants to cut $603 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years.

Even if the balanced budget Bush envisions by 2012 were to materialize, it would be short-lived.

Deficit spending soon would resume as more and more of the nation's 76 million baby boomers move into retirement. The Concord Coalition, a fiscal watchdog group, estimates the shortfall in Social Security and Medicare through 2080 will total $72.3 trillion.

With Democrats controlling Congress, the White House's budget has little chance of being enacted as written.

"This budget will be quickly forgotten," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D. "But, unfortunately, the president's legacy of debt will stay with us, as it is passed on to future generations. His stewardship of our budget has been an utter disaster."

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-West Chester, said in a statement: "Instead of criticizing the president's budget, congressional Democrats would be well-served to join the president and Republicans in funding our nation's priorities while protecting middle-class families and small businesses from a massive tax hike in 2010."

Next year, a new administration will toss out the Bush priorities to establish its own. The incoming president will have to plunge immediately into reforming Social Security and Medicare.