With soaring prices for energy, falling housing values and the first decline in U.S. jobs in more than four years last month, it's no wonder the economy was foremost in the minds of many voters on Super Tuesday. Whoever moves into the White House next January will face the challenges of fixing a federal budget broken under President George W. Bush and putting the U.S. economy on a surer path toward long-term growth.

The budget and the economy are two different things, but chronic deficits bankrolled by heavy borrowing — the course continued in Mr. Bush's latest spending plan — eat away at the foundations of a strong economy.

Here are some of the economic imperatives for the next president:

n Stanch the red ink. Borrowing to finance deficits burdens future generations and makes the United States more dependent on China and other foreign creditors. It eats up capital for investments that would make the country stronger and more prosperous.

Commit to pay-as-you-go discipline for tax cuts and spending increases. Set priorities and curb spending in all other areas.

n Slow spending growth for Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements. Otherwise, those programs won't be sustainable as more baby boomers retire and health-care costs rise. Many elements of health-care reform — such as better record keeping and error prevention — can save money without reducing services.

Don't dump this on your successor. The longer changes are put off, the more painful they will be.

n Reform taxes. There is broad agreement in both parties that the tax code needs to be simpler and fairer. Eliminating loopholes and special-interest tax breaks could save enough to reduce rates for many taxpayers, allow targeted cuts to spur investment and make the U.S. system more competitive.

n Invest in the future. Federal funding and tax credits for research and development will promote technological advances that maintain U.S. leadership in the global economy. Improvements in highways, mass-transit systems and data networks will keep goods and people moving. Better education will help students compete.

n Keep up the push for free trade. Agreements will open more of the world's markets to U.S. companies, and help them keep pace with their competitors in Europe and Asia. But more trade needs to be accompanied by more serious efforts to ensure safe imports, and more aggressive challenges to illegal trade practices.

n Cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil. It's a huge transfer of national wealth, often to unfriendly regimes. Aggressively developing alternatives would make the country more secure as well as greener.

None of these steps will be easy. But voters are counting on better economic leadership from the next president.