Balancing the budget is not enough. The country's long-term financial problems are much worse than the year-to-year budget shows. Going cold turkey on deficit spending is certainly a good thing, but it isn't enough to put the country back on a stable financial path. Unless we reform Social Security and Medicare -- unless we raise revenues or trim benefits or cut health care costs or do some combination of all three -- the huge debt the country has accumulated over the years will skyrocket. The heart-stopping little factoid circulating in D.C. policy circles? Just a few decades out, if nothing changes, the country will need nearly every tax dollar it collects to pay for Social Security, Medicare and interest on the debt.

Back in the day, Ross Perot pulled out the pie charts and put the country's budget problems front and center in his campaign. It doesn't look like that's going to happen this time around. This time around, we're just going to have to do that for ourselves.

Copyright © 2007 Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson

Author Scott Bittle, an award-winning journalist, is executive editor of PublicAgendaOnline, a public affairs site twice-nominated for the prestigious Webby Award.

Jean Johnson is executive vice president of Public Agenda and a founder of the Web site. She has written on public opinion and current issues for dozens of publications ranging from Education Week to USA Today.

Both authors live in the New York City area.

Page 2 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next