Free Republic

<p>WASHINGTON - President Bush's new budget proposes another deficit next year, but he said cutting this year's record deficit of $521 billion in half in five years is a top priority.</p> <p>All he needs to do now is come up with a realistic plan to do it.</p>

SACRAMENTO -- The budget Gov. Gray Davis is expected to sign Saturday solves the state's immediate cash-flow needs, but still leaves a multibillion dollar shortfall next year and as well as billions of dollars in loans, accounting gimmicks and one-time savings that only delay tough choices. "The path that the Legislature took is not good for the economy or the residents of the state," said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. "They decided to neither cut spending nor raise revenues sufficiently to truly balance the budget. "They picked a third option, which is...