On Feb. 3 President Bush laid out a $2.23 trillion budget for the coming fiscal year. The proposed budget outline is set to plunge the United States in to the deepest debt it has ever seen, bottoming out at a $307 billion deficit. This even tops former President Bush’s record of $290 billion, set back in 1992.

The new budget calls for roughly $500 million for NASA spending, a rise set prior to the Columbia tragedy. Also included in the bill is a 7.6 percent increase in non-defense-related homeland security, a $15 billion increase in military spending and hundreds of billions in tax cuts.

The budget has created a severe partisan divide on Capital Hill, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats in Washington — sharp criticism that is rightfully placed.

During his presidency, Bush has managed to dwindle away a predicted $387 billion surplus for the 2004 fiscal year, according to The Washington Post. Instead, he is plunging the country into its greatest deficit ever, difference of $694 billion.

It can be argued that this reversal is not entirely the fault of the Bush administration. With a dropping economy, terrorist attacks and an impending war, the Bush administration has certainly had a full plate of problems forced in front of them.

Still, all those issues do not excuse a $694 billion turnaround. Sen. Kent Conrad, D- ND, told CNN, “I think this budget is breathtaking in its lack of fiscal responsibility.”

Conrad is the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

Democratic presidential contender Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., also put his two cents worth in, accusing the president’s budget of giving tax cuts to those least in need of it.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the budget is that it by no means addresses the potential war with Iraq — a war that appears more and more imminent daily.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies warned that war could drive stocks down by 25 percent. War with Iraq could also potentially cost $50 to $60 million, said Mitchell Daniels, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

All in all, Bush’s budget is fundamentally flawed.

Forcing the country deeper in to debt, without even factoring in action in Iraq, could cause the worst economic downturn this country has seen since the sock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression.

Hundreds of billions in tax cuts are not the answer to the country’s current recession, especially when the cuts benefit those who do not even really need the money.

Editorial Board: Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings, Ayrel Clark, Charlie Weaver, Katie List