At a meeting today in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talked about the need for entitlement reform. "The imperative to undertake reform earlier rather than later is great," Bernanke said.

Though the chairman kept his remarks general, Bernanke provided a clear, apolitical view of the financial burdens our country faces with the growth of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. As he noted, "The fiscal consequences of these trends are large and unavoidable."

Today marked the first time that Bernanke spoke directly about the need for entitlement reform, but it's not the first time a Fed chairman has cautioned the American public about our underfunded liabilities. Former Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed concern last year, specifically with regard to raising taxes as a potential solution: "[T]ax increases of sufficient dimension to deal with our looming fiscal problems arguably pose significant risks to economic growth and the revenue base."

While Bernanke stopped short of recommending a course of action, we hope the current chairman agrees with Greenspan's view. Instead of dropping money from a chopper, perhaps the chairmen can dump some water on this blaze before it consumes 50% of our GDP.

Read about Bernanke's statements here.