Short-term budget surpluses are not the long-term solution to the problems of Medicare and Social Security. Regardless of its size, a projected surplus is no substitute for the tough choices policy makers must make to address demographic realities. Simply using presumed general revenue surpluses to prop up the trust funds, regardless of long-term costs, is an illusion and not a solution. The underlying problems will remain, and even if the surpluses materialize, a unique opportunity to enact needed structural reforms before a crisis hits will have been squandered. Moreover, the situation will get even worse if the expectation of a surplus is used to expand programs that are already on an unsustainable footing.