Get ready to lead

The Orlando Sentinel: The federal budget deficit has come down for the third year in a row. But this is no time for Congress and the president — or would-be presidents — to move a long-term plan to balance the budget down the list of priorities.

Blame the oncoming flood of retiring baby boomers and rising health-care costs. The deficit, and the borrowing to cover it, will climb to unheard-of levels in the future if Congress and the president don’t do something to head off staggering shortfalls in federal entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare. The longer the president and Congress wait, the harder the fix.

Choppy waters

Most 2008 presidential candidates have been wary of wading into these choppy waters. Fortunately, that may be changing.

At a debate among Republican presidential candidates last week, former Sen. Fred Thompson called the coming explosion in entitlement costs the nation’s No. 1 long-term problem. He floated the idea of tying the growth in Social Security benefits to inflation instead of wage growth.

Among the Democratic candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards both have raised the possibility of hiking Social Security payroll taxes on higher-income Americans.

Obviously, ideas such as these would need a thorough debate. At least these candidates seem willing to get one started.