Obama Releases $3.4 Trillion Budget Plan

According to Washington Post article:

"The Obama administration today unveiled details of a $3.4 trillion federal budget for the fiscal year beginning in October, a proposal that includes substantial increases for a number of domestic priorities as well as a plan to trim or eliminate 121 programs at a savings of $17 billion."

$3.4 trillion federal budget is the largest ever in peacetime, and is projected to create the deficit of $1.8 trillion in 2009. $17 billion savings is equivalent to 0.5% of the size of the budget. (Treasury is to auction $14 billion 30-year bond today, by the way.) Yet, the administration goes on to say...

""We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits don't matter and waste is not our problem," he said. "We can no longer afford to leave the hard choices for the next budget, the next administration -- or the next generation.""

Sooo...as long as you spend the money you don't own with full acknowledgement that deficits do matter and waste is the problem, it's OK to spend? I'm confused. Is it just the matter of attitude, not the sheer magnitude of money?

"In any case, Orszag [White House Budget Director] said, "$17 billion a year is not chump change by anyone's accounting." "

OK, people, please watch the sock puppet on my left hand....

What about those Bush years deficit? Here's a chart, also from Washington Post (3/21):

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