Some priorities. Republican Senators feign outrage that the filibuster means it takes 60 votes to confirm Bush appointees to lifetime jobs as federal judges, but they plotted a sneak attack with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act that, if successful, could mean that it would take 60 votes to raise the minimum wage.

The Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees released their 2005 annual report which states that "exhaustion" of the trust fund will occur one year earlier than predicted, or in 2041 as opposed to 2042. The report also finds that the amount of tax revenues taken in will fall below the amount the trust fund will pay out starting in 2017. The SSA originally stated this would happen in 2018. Now, they predict that the Social Security program will need to supplement trust fund receipts with general revenues in order to pay be able to pay people full benefits a year earlier. The new report also projects a Social Security shortfall of $4 trillion over the next 75 years. This number is up from the $3.7 trillion figure that economists and politicians have been quoting. Max Sawicky of the Economic Policy Institute notes that the Social Security crisis is not nearly as pressing as the problems being created by our large budget deficits, which were largely due to the administration's tax cuts. These deficits will hinder the government's ability pay for any and all of programs down the road, including Social Security and Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in 2042, when the Social Security shortfall will supposedly be 1.37 percent of GDP, the overall budget deficit will be much greater than that --10.7 percent of GDP. Sawicky says, "While the administration tries to fiddle with a relatively small-scale Social Security shortfall, it is creating overall budget deficits that are burning a hole as far as the eye can see. Instead of focusing on a relatively small and distant problem, the administration would better serve the nation by fixing the much bigger and more immediate problem it has created." This is a sentiment echoed widely by economists and policy analysts, many of whom see the large costs of tax cuts and future skyrocketing costs of Medicare as much more serious problems. For more information see this Washington Post article and this report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. For more from the Social Security Administration, click here.

Chuck Collins of United for a Fair Economy recently came out with a new op-ed which discusses traditional war-time sacrifice, and why now -- when we are in the midst of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- it is not time to be cutting or scaling back the estate tax, much less other taxes. We are faced with a House and Senate which very recently passed budget blueprints prioritizing defense and homeland security above social welfare programs. Along with this, last thursday the House passed an $81.4 billion emergency supplemental bill to fund our war operations. Collins' op-ed makes a good point about priorities and sacrifice. Wars are costly, and cutting taxes for the wealthy while increasing war spending does not show that our leaders have the best interests of our country or economy in mind. Collins' article can be read here.