The GAO, one of several outposts of fiscal sanity in Washington, has updated its long-term federal budget projection [1], 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 [2], too, which makes the line chart look like the blueprint for a thrill ride at Six Flags [3].

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 [4] -- waiting even 10 years to act on entitlements makes the changes almost unbearably costly.