Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   Buteye Help Me or Martini Help Me Date:   2/14/2018 1:48:02 PM

As for SS, the only answer is to combine means testing, gradually raising he eligibility age to future recipients and allow younger people to opt out all or a portion of their contribution in exchange for not taking any benefits.  Also need to clamp down on doctors with the phony disability claims.  If I operated a retirement fund like the Feds operate FICA I would be in prison.

Same goes for Medicare/Medicaid, etc.  What will bring them back to solvency is to lower the trajectory of costs over time.  Means testing and raising elgilbility requirements is the only way.  Death panels and ratcheting down on doctors and big pharma will not do the trick.  And it needs to be done gradually and with lots of notice so people can plan appropriately.  

But you be the politician to propose that and the ads with you pushing granny off a cliff in her wheel chair or wearing a white robe and burning a cross will come very quickly from the Democrats.  They like more people to rely on some form of govt help.  That's the way for them to buy votes.  So in essence it isn't ever going to happen and as long as Democrats stay to the left of Chairman Mao the only way we get budgets passed is to bribe them for their votes.