Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The President's Budget: "Target-Rich Environment"

From the Columbia Journalism Review's The Audit blog:

We’re all for flood-the-zone coverage of the budget, so a tip of The Audit’s green eyeshade to The Wall Street Journal, which unfurls the story in full glory, with charts, breakdowns, analysis for individual federal departments and agencies, plus, for no extra charge, a handy Q & A on what it all means for taxpayers.

The package is here.

The politics analysis is here.

Bloomberg also goes big and includes a look at U.S. companies that would see their taxes go up if the blueprint is approved and implications for municipal bonds.

And far be it from me to scoff at any opportunity to ogle the, um, photogenic director of the Office of Management and Budget (insert wolf whistle here).

But lost in the shuffle, I’m afraid, is the jaw-dropping number that Obama is requesting for the Defense Department next year: $708 billion.

That’s seven oh eight. Billion. Cash money.

I know, I know. The defense budget is Washington’s version of Groundhog Day. Year in and year out, pork barrel politics make it impossible for the Pentagon to cut programs that the Pentagon itself doesn’t want or need. Apparently, people outside of Washington think this is strange....MORE