Administration's Estimate of 2012 Deficit Jumps $520 Billion in 730 Days

by Jeffrey H. Anderson at The Weekly Standard

As Matt Continetti notes, Yuval Levin writes at the Corner that "it’s important to remember that our federal government budgets itself year by year, and in making next year’s budget it is not bound by this year’s budget." Thus, the president's budget for this year means something; his projections for coming years range from unreliable to meaningless.

Here's an example: President Obama's first budget (for 2010), entitled "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise," projected that 2012 deficit spending would be $581 billion.  His second budget, for 2011, projected that 2012 deficit spending would be $828 billion. Now, his actual 2012 budget projects that 2012 deficit spending will be $1.101 trillion. That's an increase of more than a half a trillion dollars in 730 days.

Gives you a lot of confidence in the Obama administration's predictions about Obamacare, doesn't it?