Americans support "painful" measures to fix Social Security

A majority of Americans support potentially painful proposals to increase taxes and reduce benefits in order to ensure Social Security's long-term financial future, according to a poll released Wednesday.  "I think the public is ahead of Congress and the Washington debate when it comes to Social Security," said John Rother, policy director for AARP, the nation's largest organization for Americans 50 and older, which conducted the survey.  Without any changes, the Social Security program is expected to be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2040. During the next 75 years, the program is expected to fall more than $4 trillion in the red.  Efforts to address Social Security's long-range financial problems ground to a halt in late 2005 after Congress and the public balked at President Bush's proposal to create private investment accounts using Social Security taxes.  William Novelli, AARP's chief executive officer, said the poll shows that Social Security changes need to include both more revenue and changes in benefits. Bush had rejected a tax increase to solve the problem.

Source:  Wilmington (NC) Star, http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/NEWS/702220365/1002

Ed:  What would it take?  Check out Prof. Jon Forman's powerpoints.   So,  OK Dems:  do you have the .. hmm...guts?  Now is your chance.  Do something.  And while you're at it, how about a fix for Medicare too?