"Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security accounted for 16 percent of total government expenditures 40 years ago. Today, they comprise 40 percent of all expenditures."

So says the report from Treasury and OMB which came out earlier this week.  The report also includes this commentary from Treasury Secretary Paulson: "Throughout this unprecedented year, the Treasury Department has worked to achieve and maintain the stability of the financial system with short-term actions, but we must not forget the long-term needs that pose a significant threat to our country's fiscal sustainability."

We agree, which is why we recently submitted this letter to the Wall Street Journal:

The eviscerating retirement costs of American automakers ("America's Other Auto Industry", editorial, Dec. 1) should serve as a warning about the need to deal with our nation's entitlement programs, especially given that Detroit's three-to-one ratio of workers to retirees is the same dependency ratio that Medicare and Social Security now face. Social Security alone has $13.6 trillion of unfunded liabilities — that's nearly 400 times Detroit's bailout request. Perhaps we can afford to extend Detroit a lifeline, but who will bail out America when our retirement promises become unaffordable?

President-Elect Obama is well aware of the problems our entitlement programs face.  In fact, here is what he said last year on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:

People -- the American people on Social Security or healthcare, they know these are tough problems and what they want is, I think, an honest assessment of what it's going to take to solve the problem and not a lot of petty-back fighting and grandstanding. And hopefully that will be an effective strategy in the campaign.

Given that Obama's attention to Social Security was an effective strategy, will he work in his first term to address the unsustainable costs that lie ahead?  Or will he show that he cares more about getting votes than following through on the change that he promised?