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You need to read your own answer. You said, "As I indicated there have been reform plans advocated by Ryan, Coburn, and others to change benefits for those 55 and under." There is an example of a promise that in 10 or 15 years, we'll do things differently.

I can't believe you don't understand that. These are proposed bills that would reform SS and Medicare. The SS reform would not apply to those 55 or older. If passed, the law would go immediately into effect. It would be the law just like the 1983 change to SS.

If it's a great idea, why don't they propose doing it now?

Ryan did propose to do it now.

You need to wake up to reality. No major politician of either party or of any philosophy is advocating reducing senior benefits now, the only time that they can change benefits.

I said that. Why do you persist in this strawman?

It's a lot of baloney. Show me a politician who wants to create a change that takes effect now. We can only control the things we do now.

There were and have been specific proposals to do just that from Ryan, Price, Coburn, etc. And the Simpson-Bowles proposal drew bipartisan support. As I said, nohting will happen unless both parties put forth a proposal similar to what was done in 1983.

The SS reform would not apply to those 55 or older.

Your recognition of that fact is what convinces me that you are not genuinely confused about the fact that the real changes will not take place for 10 years (when those who are 55 become 65). I am convinced that you really do know that most people 55 and under do not yet receive Medicare benefits and that their benefits will not be affected until they are 65 (10 years from now). I am convinced that you really do know that.

And, the problem is that (as Ryan knows) we do not know and we cannot know what the state of the law will be 10 years from now when these people 55 and under become 65 and over. Anything Ryan passes today can be changed during that 10 years if the people now 55 and under should decide that they don't want the Ryan plan.

And, the fact that Ryan does not believe that people 55 or over will accept his proposal suggests that the people who are now 55 and under might very well decide that they too do not like his proposal as they get closer to the age of 65.

People who want to promise what the law will be like in 10 years contribute absolutely nothing to the solution of the debt problem. If senior benefits are too high, reduce them now. All else is baloney for suckers.