The $642 Billion Deficit Excuse

In any other time and place, $642 billion would qualify as a lot of money. But in the Washington of 2013, it has been reduced to pocket change. When the Congressional Budget Office announced that it has cut its projected 2013 federal deficit to $642 billion -- compared with 2012's deficit of $1.1 trillion and an earlier 2013 estimate of $845 billion -- there was an almost-palpable sigh of relief. The budget problem is taking care of itself. Congress and the White House can relax. No more self-destructive budget brawls. No more unpopular choices between tax increases and spending cuts.