EDITORIAL: Shape our future - vote on Nov. 2

The most important election cycle of our time is the current one. Always. The only ballot we can cast is the one in front of us, the only stand we can take to set things on the road to being better, or worse, is the present one. Each Election Day we define our future, and each Election Day is crucial.

Tuesday will be no exception.

We progress, and regress, incrementally. Our infrastructure took decades to build and will, if allowed, take decades to disintegrate. Our educational system was a century in the making and will, if neglected, slowly be unmade. Our dominance as an industrial and manufacturing power grew steadily over multiple eras and will, if not significantly reformed, decline in much the same fashion.

This is the most important election of our time. So was the last one. So is the next one.

We are sitting at the crossroads, not the cliff's edge. Nationally, regionally and locally, we face a slate of problems that, while difficult, can be dealt with. The fixes are still doable. The solutions are still tolerable.

That will become less and less true if we don't begin to act.

Social Security is a prime example. As the nation changes, the program must evolve. The last major overhaul took place in 1983, just months before the money ran out. A coalition led by Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill increased the contributions of employees and employers, levied a tax on benefits over a certain income level, and raised the retirement age. The changes, hard but not horrific, solidified Social Security for decades.

Now, although the fund is projected to be bankrupt in 27 years rather than a few months, more changes are needed. Studies show small tweaks in eligibility, withholding, taxation of benefits or some combination of these will do the trick if made soon. But if we wait to address the problem, it will take massive increases in taxes and the retirement age to balance the books.

Medicaid and Medicare present similar problems, with funding challenges difficult to fix today but nearly impossible to correct later. And reforming these three entitlements is the only meaningful way to address the federal deficit.

So to get on the right path, we have to vote for politicians willing to address these problems now. We have to reward candidates who tell us pragmatic truths, and act on them. We need to withhold our vote from those who claim they will maintain or increase services, decrease taxes, and erase deficits via the magic wand of spending cuts they cannot name.

The need for pragmatic politicians and hard choices also holds true for the State of New York. The pension plans for public employees need a serious reworking soon or they will become nearly unfixable. The reworking will be bruising, but the lack of one would be devastating, forcing state and municipalities into an endless cycle of tax hikes to cover their share of the constitutionally mandated benefits.

This is also true of the state's roads, bridges and tunnels, and its governmental and tax structure. New York's woes will be arduous to address now, but will dramatically increase if we wait.

On Long Island, there are so many things to celebrate, but so many trends that can't possibly be sustained. Property taxes are spiraling out of control, young people cannot afford to buy a home and start a family here, and too many businesses cannot afford to operate. Had these issues been addressed seriously 10 years ago, they might not still be problems. If they are not confronted now, they may be insurmountable a decade hence.

In this country, the steady direction is as important as the more obvious starts, stops and U-turns. Every step on the path matters.

And today that path feels exceedingly slippery, as if a few more missteps might mean we never recover our footing.

What stands out about this election isn't that it is important - because, again, they all are. What stands out about this election is that it is hard.

Our instinct is to vote for the candidate who tells us he or she will make things better for us, take less of our money and give us more in return. That's natural.

But the difficult truths of mathematics tell us we can't pay less without consigning our children and grandchildren to pay more - so much more they likely won't be able to do it. We likewise can't get more benefits and services without assuring that future generations receive less.

It's easy to feel our votes don't have an impact, but it isn't true. The choices we've made at the polls have shaped nearly every aspect of our society. Our votes matter tremendously.

Cast them Tuesday, for the most truthful, honest and courageous candidates you can. hN