According to the President's State of the Union speech, the current administration claims it will "cut the deficit in half over the next five years."

This is a shift from just 6 months ago when the administration was claiming that "the budget deficit is expected to be cut by more than half by 2006."

In fact, administration policies are unlikely to cut the deficit in half EVER.

And, apparently, there is no prospect whatsoever of a balanced budget anytime in the near (or distant) future under current policy.

See Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget, from the Brookings Institution, for a better and more realistic explanation of the fiscal situation and what to do about it.

State of the Union Address

In two weeks, I will send you a budget that funds the war, protects the homeland, and meets important domestic needs, while limiting the growth in discretionary spending to less than 4 percent. (Applause.) This will require that Congress focus on priorities, cut wasteful spending, and be wise with the people's money. By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years. (Applause.)