WSJ: Our $40 Trillion Nightmare

Please don't make me think about this:

There are no easy solutions, because the causes of the debt are not what political demagogues claim. Despite recent tax cuts, federal revenue as a share of GDP is at approximately the same level as it has been for the past 75 years. Defense spending is also not to blame, as it constitutes a historically small and shrinking percentage of the economy.
The real driver of national debt is ever-increasing social spending, particularly on entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — whose growth is attributable to an aging population and mounting health-care expenses. Because these programs run on autopilot and are overwhelmingly popular, lawmakers of both parties have no incentive to touch them before it’s too late.
There are still several ways to reform entitlements by restraining their cost growth and reducing benefits for the highest earners. But the choices get worse the longer we wait, just as they are far more difficult now than they were years ago.
The first thing Congress has to do is quit throwing fuel on the fire with even more unpaid-for spending. Republicans, especially, must relearn their commitment to fiscal responsibility, since Democrats never had one to begin with. Then, lawmakers will need to level with voters about the cold, hard trade-offs they face.

Though look: Clinton was the last President to balance the budget... And Gore would have very likely done the same--starting with not invading Iraq for no goddamned reason whatsoever...  Two-and-a-half $trillion-with-a-T right there... Which may not sound like so much from our current predicament...but, ya know...a trillion here, a trillion there...