Procrastination is one of Congress’ finely-tuned skills, as made clear by the unnecessary drama that has erupted when deadlines for the fiscal cliff, government operations and transportation funding have arrived over the past few years. In the end, Congress is usually able to come up with a mediocre solution that works until the next deadline starts looming.

The constant need to take care of the immediate crisis distracts from serious long-term issues that are worthy of attention — namely, Social Security. Although the retirement trust fund exhaustion date is roughly 2034, the longer Congress waits to save the system the more painful those reforms will be for everyone.