Paul Krugman may not be that concerned by the Obama administration's new projection that the unified federal budget deficits will sum to $9 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. But I am.

Here's the argument Paul Krugman gave for why $9 trillion maybe isn't as huge a sum as it sounds:

even if we do run these deficits, federal debt as a share of GDP will be substantially less than it was at the end of World War II. It will also be substantially less than, say, debt in several European countries in the mid to late 1990s.

Political Math (hat tip: Russ Roberts) takes a closer look at Paul's first comparison:

implicit in his observation is the concept that since we did fine after WWII, we'll do fine now. But the years after WWII saw drastic reductions in the inflation-adjusted debt driven by drastic reductions

Even as investors get more and more bullish about the outlook for the U.S. economy, the economy’s underlying foundation continues to erode.

In a report to be released this week, the Obama administration will boost its 10-year projection for the federal budget deficit to about $9 trillion – an increase of roughly $2 trillion, or 29%, from its prior projection, Fox News reported over the weekend, citing a source from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The new cumulative deficit projection – for 2010-2019 – replaces the administration’s previous estimate of $7.108 trillion. Changes in budget projections – whether they result in a surplus or a deficit – are often refined as economic conditions change. This new projection was necessary because the recession has gone on for so long, causing federal tax receipts to plunge – and because the economic rebound will be prolonged and weak, resulting

The first public retirement pension scheme was created by Otto von Bismarck in 1880 Germany. Fifty years later, during the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt followed suit in the United States. As we’ve seen, the number of people expected to reach the retirement age of 65 was not considered to pose a threat to future funding.

Life expectancy in 1935, in the United States, for example, was 76.9 for men. Workers relying on the plan for retirement would not receive much each month and were not expected to live long enough to drain the system.

When Social Security was founded, the typical US worker at age 65 could expect to live another 11.9 years. But if today’s official projections are right, by the year 2040 the typical 65-year-old worker can expect to live at least another 19.2 years. If the normal retirement age had been indexed to longevity since 1935,

Currencies rebound…  G-8 has no fireworks…  Aussie / China and coal… Entitlements… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! I’m late, I’m late! I don’t believe I ever heard the alarm go off this morning! I overslept by more than an hour, and will still be here more than an hour before any sign of someone else! But! That puts me behind by more than an hour today… I’ve got to play catch-up! So, let’s get this Tub Thumpin’ Thursday going!

Well… Let’s see… G-8 never had the opportunity to shoot fireworks because China’s leader had to return home to deal with the street riots going on in his country. So… The call for a replacement for the dollar as the reserve currency will have to wait for another day! And, with that news, the dollar got to remain in the sunlight, and bask in the glory of being

The U.S. Social Security and Medicare programs will run short of adequate funding faster than previously thought, according to a government report released earlier this week.  The Social Security Fund will be exhausted by 2037, four years earlier than previously thought. And the Medicare hospital trust fund will be insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than projected, the report said.

The shortfalls are the result of the significant drop in tax revenue that has stemmed from soaring unemployment and tax cuts.

The Social Security fund represents $2.4 trillion of IOUs from the government, which has borrowed liberally from the program’s surplus to fund other projects. The Social Security surplus has allowed the government to avoid borrowing more than $2 trillion over the past 20 years. But as the gap between Social Security’s intake and its payout narrows, it becomes increasingly likely that the government will have to act.

“When