Social Security and Medicare have promised $37 trillion more in benefits to senior and disabled workers than the programs will be able to pay, according to a new report from the Medicare and Social Security trustees. In 2006, a quarter of all federal income tax revenue will go towards paying for the two entitlement programs. In 2030, almost half of all federal income taxes will go towards Medicare and Social Security.

Congress cannot allow Medicare and Social Security to remain in their current forms. “It is irresponsible to saddle our children and grandchildren with the $37 trillion in additional taxes that will be needed to pay full benefits into the future,” write David John and Robert Moffit.

As John and Moffit write, “Delay will only make [the] dilemma worse.”

Read Medicare and Social Security: Big Entitlement Costs on the Horizon by David John and Robert Moffit, Ph.D.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is less than a year old and is already having an impact on gasoline prices. The law’s provisions have, in fact, added to the pain at the pump. Today, congressional incumbents are wary of an electorate angered by a summer of steep prices, and so the urge to act on gas prices is stronger than it was a year ago. Before taking action on gas prices, Congress and the administration should review the energy bill’s effects on gasoline markets in order to avoid any counterproductive consequences.

The House quickly passed, with few changes, President George W. Bush's request for $92 billion of supplemental funding for the global war on terrorism and hurricane-related relief. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a stunning move of fiscal irresponsibility, veered far off course, adding $14 billion of non-emergency spending unrelated to the original purpose of the bill. While some senators vow to strip out this additional spending, others are readying amendments to add $10 billion more to the bill, bringing it $24 billion over the President's request and vastly expanding its scope. But now the dynamic has changed. Last night, the White House supplied the firm leadership needed to stop the Senate from hijacking this supplemental by issuing a strongly-worded promise to veto the bill if the extraneous spending is not removed. This line in the sand deserves high praise.