President George W. Bush is facing growing criticism that his economic policies, including a planned push to make his tax cuts permanent, amount to land mines in the US economy's path.
Economists widely credit the $1.7 trillion in tax cuts Bush has won during his tenure with helping lift the economy out of the doldrums, but many say the time has come to focus on getting the budget back into balance.
Analysts say the president's budget plan, due in early February, must offer compelling evidence that the administration is serious about getting spending and spiralling deficits under control or risk damaging market confidence.
The Bush tax cuts helped fuel a record $374 billion budget gap last year, or about 3.5 percent of US gross domestic product, the highest proportion since 1993. The White House expects that to hit about 4.5 percent this year.
Three groups - the business-backed Committee for Economic Development, the bipartisan Concord Coalition and the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - have jointly warned of cumulative deficits totalling $5 trillion over the next 10 years, if current policies remain in place.
Much of the shortfall to date has been covered by borrowing from overseas - a factor pushing the deficit in the US current account, the broadest measure of international trade, to record levels.
Analysts say the widening current account gap has contributed to a fall in the dollar, which hit record lows against the euro on Friday after a report showed a scant 1,000 US jobs were created last month.
Economists had expected a rise of 130,000.
Economists at the International Monetary Fund, the global economy's watchdog, warned last week that the greenback was likely to stay under pressure as US debts mounted.
Administration officials say putting US finances on solid footing is exactly what they intend. They say Bush will propose a course to cut the deficit in half over five years by holding the line on spending - even as the tax cuts due to expire at decade's end become permanent.