No but I can do this great thing where I pat my head w/one hand and rub my stomach with the other . . .
>
> Otherwise, "defending the basic concept of the program" becomes the
> extreme left position, and cutting the baby in half becomes the sensible
> centrist position.
In defending the concept of social insurance, it is not helpful to simultaneously propose measures that make the program less like insurance and more like tax-and-transfer. Put another way, in assuring people they are getting their 'money's worth,' somewhat loosely defined, it is at the very least confusing to advocate in the same breath changes which discriminate among persons in determining what their money is worth.
Cheers,
mbs