With respect to Social Security, as I indicated earlier, making changes to these programs is so difficult that this may be an opportunity for us to go ahead and dosomethingsmart that strengthens Social Security and gives not just this generation but future generations the opportunity to say this thing is going to be in there for the long haul.
And as we saw in California just last month, raising taxes is not something that a smart politician wants to do in a slowing, sagging, collapsing economy.
Do they come up with excuses in the middle of a conversation to pull out their smart phone -- something like "let me jot something you said down so I don't forget it, " and then sneak a look at all their messages?