Center for American Progress - Progress Report - Page: "Bush said, 'We can cut the deficit in half over the next five years.' But the plan he was referring to 'omits a number of likely costs' such as the continued cost of Iraq and its own defense spending plans. All told, he is proposing roughly $3 trillion in new tax cuts and spending, including $1 trillion to make his tax cuts permanent, $1 trillion to privatize Social Security, $50 billion more for war in Iraq, $1.5 billion to promote marriage, and a Mars proposal that could cost $500 billion. The result is that the deficit is predicted to be 'in the range of $500 billion in 2009' � not even near half of what it currently is. "