Tour talks of fiscal time bomb
Reform critical for social safety net, messengers say

BY ROBERT BEHRE

So far, the 2008 crop of presidential candidates is ignoring one of the nation's most pressing problems: the urgent need to reform spending on Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare programs, U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker said.

"This has got to be one of the top three priorities for the next president or we're going to be in trouble," Walker said. "Nobody has focused on it from what I've seen. ? They're not talking specifics."

Walker visited Charleston on Tuesday with other policy wonks on the left and right as part of a "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour" aimed at raising the level of public awareness and debate over the problem.

Walker said the nation actually posted larger deficits, as a percent of the economy, in the 1980s, but said that is not relevant because of the nation's soaring health care costs, falling savings rates and a coming wave of baby boomers who will retire and live longer. Add it up, he said, and it will trigger "a tsunami of entitlement spending."

Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare already make up 40 percent of the federal budget.

Any solution must have the support of both parties and everything should be on the table, including limiting benefits to those less in need, raising taxes and passing new federal budget controls, tour members said.

Alison Fraser of The Heritage Foundation said the tour members probably disagree the most on tax changes, adding, "I look at this as a spending problem."

Doug Elmendorf of The Brookings Institution said he expects the federal government will have to raise taxes even if it takes significant steps to addresses spending, "because the government is in the business of providing for old and sick people, and there are more of them, and they are more expensive."

While businesses saved $355 billion in 2005, the most recent year where figures are available, American households went $35 billion more into debt. Since the federal government borrowed $310 billion that year, the net national savings amounted to only $10 billion, according to the tour. The low rate of savings will burden future generations and cause an increasing dependence on foreign countries that will hurt America's ability to lead and put the nation at greater risk if global markets tumble.

Charleston was their 19th stop on the tour and the first one after their cause was bolstered by a "60 Minutes" story that aired Sunday. The four spoke to the Charleston Rotary Club after lunch, met with local media and gave a public presentation at The Citadel in the evening.

Robert Bixby, director of The Concord Coalition, likened the status quo to the widespread awareness years ago that New Orleans was ill prepared to weather a major hurricane.

"The fiscal federal levees are in jeopardy. Everybody knows it, but it's just easier not to do anything about," he said. "As we saw in New Orleans you can get away with it for a while, until the hurricane hits."

While the action by the next president will be crucial, there's a chance that President Bush and Congress can tackle part of the problem this spring. Also, anyone concerned can contact their Congressman's field office. "Members of Congress by and large don't feel they have permission to talk about it," Fraser said.