What's Missing in the Budget

The President's budget is the tightest one of his tenure. But it leaves out the really expensive stuff he wants. For instance, there's no mention of the transition costs of his Social Security private accounts -- which the White House estimates will cost $754 billion over five years. Some other items that he left out:

• $81 billion already requested this year for the Iraq War
• $1.6 billion (over 10 years) to make tax cuts permanent
• $642 million (over 10 years) to change the alternative minimum tax
  

There's also the White House report out today that the President's Medicare prescription drug plan will cost $1.2 trillion -- instead of the $400 billion he first claimed in 2003. The budget does mention an apparent doubling of that cost over the first five years of the plan. (Boston Globe)