Fiscal Shortfall Demands Entitlement Reform

August 11 - David Walker, former Comptroller General of the U.S., told MSNBC today that the federal government faces a shortfall of $54 trillion dollars and the our entitlement system has the "makings of a super-subprime crisis dealing with the federal government's finances." Although entitlements like Social Security and Medicare are driving a lot of the projected shortfall, MSNBC questioned if the nation has an appetite for reform. Putting reform in the context of the coming election, Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said:

"Leadership is only going to come from somebody using the bully pulpit to create a mandate, so this is the opportunity for leadership...Otherwise, a crisis is what it will take. And that's a real problem, because Wall Street is short-term focused ...The financial markets will make us deal with it, but it will be too late when they do."