How would you fix the economy and budget issues?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

People have been paying into SS their whole working life, and now you want to reduce that to a mere couple of years? Wow. Advice, never run for office and use that as your platform. Even the Repubs would laugh you out.

1) You didn't ask what I would do to get elected, you asked what I would do to fix the economy/taxes/budget. I'm not concerned whether it's popular, I'm concerned whether or not it's the right thing to do.

2) If we keep the retirement age where it is, then the 30 somethings who have paid into it for the last 10-20 years will be paying into a system that won't even be solvent when they go to retire. You have to make a choice:

- increase payroll taxes to fund the program as is, or
- raise the retirement age
- cut the size of benefits

Not sure why you think raising the retirement age is such a far fetched concept. In fact, it seems I just might be able to get elected after all:

President Obama has recently alluded to changing Social Security benefits to balance the budget, and a national University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll released today suggests most Americans support such a move.
Nearly nine out of 10 respondents supported at least one reform, and two-thirds supported at least two reforms.
Of the five possible reforms proposed, two received majority support: half supported increasing the retirement age by up to three years.

Hawkeye Poll: Majority of Americans supports Social Security reformUniversity News Services - The University of Iowa