New Math

Read this and try not to squirm:

The Bush administration Friday downplayed its ballooning cost estimates for the Medicare reform and prescription drug package by saying it was a just a matter of a few percentage points.

When President George W. Bush pushed to get the legislation through Congress, he cited Congressional Budget Office forecasts that said the legislation would cost $400 billion over 10 years.

However, the Department of Health and Human Services has told the White House budget office it now believes the legislation will cost between $530 billion and $540 billion during the next 10 years.

“A few percentage points” means, in this case, about 30 damn percent. Try using that math next time you’re applying for a mortgage.