Leave everything else alone. The budget would balance in 2001 under the assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office. Still, Clinton and Congress are sprinkling favors to selected causes and constituencies. Almost everything in the agreement is inflated for popular consumption. One advertised new program would provide more health insurance for uncovered children.
Savings generally stem from lower reimbursement rates to hospitals, doctors and managed-care groups.
The budget also falls short in other ways. The tax cuts mutilate the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which lowered top rates and broadened the tax base. Instead, Clinton and Congress are fashioning a system with high rates and many tax breaks that's more complex and cumbersome. As a result, government spends too much on its worst programs and not enough on its best. If deficits unexpectedly widen, this might induce Congress to restrain them.