Signs of Progress...

New Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is out of the gate, saying that he wants to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to solve America's entitlement problems:

WSJ.com - Paulson Unbound: A First Look: By DEBORAH SOLOMONAugust 2, 2006: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, aiming to distinguish himself from his two most recent predecessors, used his first speech to call for a bipartisan approach to reducing the budget deficit and acknowledged that the gap between the best- and worst-paid workers has widened on President Bush's watch.

Mr. Paulson... kicked off a campaign to establish the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive as a voice on the economy who will reassert the Treasury Department's influence.... Mr. Paulson used his maiden speech not to serve as a cheerleader but to list financial and economic challenges facing the U.S. In comments at Columbia University's business school, Mr. Paulson said ballooning spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, increased dependence on foreign sources of oil and "a disturbing wave of protectionism" threaten the nation's prosperity.

"The biggest economic issue facing our country is the growth in spending on the major entitlement programs," Mr. Paulson said, vowing to work with Congress "on a bipartisan basis to find workable solutions." His reference to bipartisanship was a signal that there has been little of that on budget and tax matters in Washington in the past few years...

We wish him well. Undoing the damage that has been done during the past six years and making progress on fiscal issues is a truly Herculean task. The Treasury staff has a lot to offer. The White House staff has nothing at all to contribute.