Cesspool of deceit, redux

Did I mention that I thought the capital was a cesspool of deceit?
I think so.
Check Brad DeLong's quotes from Mark Schmitt's site. He's talking about "proposed budget cuts," don't you know...

...the second type of "cut" in the budget will be proposals for cuts that will simply never happen and everyone knows it. No one even gets that worked up when the president proposes them. This category usually comprises the largest portion of the cuts in any president's budget. Here the secret is to go after strong clients, clients so strong that everyone knows no one will ever touch them.... [I]f you're OMB, and you need your numbers to add up today, there's no reason not to put it in. It saves a few hundred million on paper, and your job is done. Proposing to cut a defense project whose prime sponsor chairs the defense appropriations subcommittee is another good way to get some savings on paper. And the affected congressman probably doesn't even mind. It gives him a way to announce that he "saved" the project....

Tip to Tom Paine.