Entitlement growth is a growing problem, budget policymakers in Congress and the Administration agree. Time to deal with it is of the essence, with the '08 campaign soon likely to make debate on solutions too hot to handle, both sides agree. "Everything is on the table," incoming Democratic Budget Committee chairmen, Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. and Sen. Kent Conrad say. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman have not ruled anything out.

Though popular, the tax extenders package that seems headed for approval today is not without its perverse aspects. For instance, a funding patch for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was stripped out of the package, at the same time that funding for Health Savings Accounts (HSA) was added. SCHIP benefits low-income children- HSAs the wealthy and privileged. For more, see this statement by Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorites. It has been known all year that without additional SCHIP funding, 17 states would face SCHIP

ThinkProgress notes that, as of Saturday, the current minimum wage has gone the longest without an increase since its inception in 1938.

USA Today reported yesterday that Medicaid costs have been decreasing over the last year, and editorializes (opinionates?) on the subject today. Like other social welfare programs, Medicaid has been a victim of its own success. It will cost taxpayers $300 billion this year (about 70% of the Pentagon's budget) and serves 56 million poor Americans. It has been the fastest-growing expense for states over the past decade, threatening to break budgets and force service cuts. Until now.