Now that those surpluses are gone, avoiding a runaway deficit will require leadership and will power from the president and Congress.

At the same time, Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Senate must ensure that the tax cut is not so large as to risk a return of runaway deficits, further undermining consumer confidence.

But Roosevelt was worried about runaway deficits.

John Kerry cosponsored and voted for the landmark Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget and deficit reduction bill to end runaway deficits.

She noted, "Politicians have created runaway deficits with wasteful spending, pet projects like the Alaskan bridge to nowhere, and special interests tax giveaways like billions for the oil companies."

In addition to calling for an end to faction-based politics, he has advocated such radical reforms as privatizing the vast postal system and curbing runaway deficits.

"You are going to be able to prove with one vote whether you are serious about doing something about these runaway debts and runaway deficits or whether it is all talk."

With Greece just a short train ride away, these countries now understand the dangers of runaway deficits and debt.

Our runaway fiscal deficit triggers other problems - especially the large-scale trade deficit that is closing our factories and wiping out American jobs.

Clearly, a lot more has to be done to prevent runaway deficits from robbing future ge...