John S. Irons notes that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has put out a set--a very good set--of one-page analyses making sense of the Congressional Budget Office's updated forecasts.

ArgMax Blog: CBO Budget Information:

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has put together a series of 1-page reports answering questions about the most recent CBO budget release.

Why the surplus has disappeared

What part was under congressional control

Revenue loss vs. spending

Debt and interest on the debt

CBO vs. OMB

What's missing?

Data Relating to Recent Budget and Economic Projections by the Congressional Budget Office, 8/29/02, 7pp.
This series of one-page analyses discusses a range of issues, including the causes of the disappearing surplus. The data in these materials will be more fully discussed in a forthcoming paper.