Tuesday's plunge in U.S. stocks was an oddity and a harbinger of nothing much at all, one of President Bush's top economic aides pronounced Wednesday as the markets recovered a bit. "Whatever happened" it "was anomalous," said Edward Lazear, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

There is, in fact, no clear reason why your 401(k), and ours, took a beating, with everyone and his brother citing causes ranging from a Chinese stock market calamity to Alan Greenspan's having let the R word — recession — pass his lips. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wisely declined to speculate on a single day's slamming, while appraising the U.S. economy — surprisingly strong for surprisingly long — as in decent shape.

But only for the moment. On Capitol Hill for a scheduled appearance, Bernanke made clear that, unless Bush and Congress markedly change course, the U.S. is headed for economic disaster. He presented a scenario that amounted not to a one-day market blip but to a long, slow decline in living standards. In fiscal terms, he has said previously, the government would be locked in a "death spiral."

The chairman has seen the future — and it is terrifying because of two forces: the aging of the population and the inexorable rise of health care costs. Put the two together and you wind up with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security bills that would force the government to borrow increasing amounts to meet obligations. By 2030, the United States would be in hock above its ears, with the country's debts roughly equaling the gross domestic product. And debt "would continue to grow exponentially after that," Bernanke said.

The U.S. has only two alternatives. One is to rein in entitlement programs; the other is to raise revenue — meaning taxes — so the government can reduce its borrowing. But Bush has done neither. No, on both fronts he has done the opposite, irresponsibly worsening the national outlook.

His tax cuts, too deep and aimed too high on the economic ladder, have put the treasury on a starvation diet. Meanwhile, he has advanced only unrealistic, dead-on-arrival ideas for reforming Social Security while introducing prescription drug coverage to Medicare (a good thing) without giving a hoot as to how to pay for it (a very bad thing).

Bernanke called for the United States "to move over time toward fiscal policies that are sustainable, efficient and equitable across generations," a sensible state of affairs that Bush has refused to deliver. The president and the rest of Washington must wise up.