Bush Plans Deficit Cuts

The Hartford Courant reports:

President Bush today is expected to detail a budget plan aimed at sharply cutting the federal deficit, which threatens to strangle the economy.

But few analysts believe Congress or the White House will follow up with much serious deficit-cutting this year, and there appears to be little clamor from constituents to do so.

The deficit, an issue that dominated political debate in the 1980s and 1990s, has left the political center stage.

"Compared to those days, it just doesn't have any gravitas as an issue," said Stan Collender, managing director of Financial Dynamics, a consulting firm.

That's why deficit spending will continue because a large part of the voting public gets some goodies from the government.The deficit will only be cut when we see a dramatic increase in interest rates in a short period of time.