Twice the Excitement, None of the Fun

The GAO, one of several outposts of fiscal sanity in Washington, has updated its long-term federal budget projection, and no, the long-term outlook has not improved. If you look at the first chart on the first page, you'll see we're facing either (a) a nosedive or (b) a really steep nosedive. If you prefer that in numbers, the long-term fiscal gap is between $31 trillion and $54 trillion, depending on how things play out. In this report, the GAO has started to factor in state and local fiscal problems, too, which makes the line chart look like the blueprint for a thrill ride at Six Flags.

There's one other similarity with a theme park: if you don't like scary rides, you should get off before it really gets rolling. And the GAO clearly says that the sooner we act the less painful change will be -- waiting even 10 years to act on entitlements makes the changes almost unbearably costly.