Since you ask . . .

I got about six comments on my previous post saying "Okay, Krugman says there are solutions for Medicare and Social Security but the Democrats don't have any and aren't proposing anything." Err, no. Sayeth the New York Times:

 

As a candidate for president, Mr. Biden proposed adding a new tier of payroll tax contributions for people with incomes over $400,000. That would extend solvency by roughly five years. The Social Security 2100 Act, sponsored by Representative John Larson, Democrat of Connecticut, enjoys widespread support in the Democratic caucus. It mirrors President Biden’s payroll tax proposal.

Social Security 2100 includes a 2 percent across-the-board boost in benefits, and it would shift the annual cost-of-living increase to a more generous formula. It also includes targeted benefit increases such as a new minimum benefit level for very low income seniors, and improved benefits for widows and widowers. It also would provide caregiver credits that increase benefits for people who take time out of the work force to care for dependent family members.

Just this week, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced the latest version of their own Social Security proposal. It would extend solvency by 75 years, give nearly all beneficiaries an increase of $200 per month through a revision in the benefit formula and adopt a more generous annual cost-of-living increase. It would be funded by applying current FICA tax rates to incomes above $250,000, and with two new taxes on investment income.

 

And:

The most substantive Republican Social Security plan comes from a group of conservative lawmakers in the House of Representatives as part of a broader federal budget plan. The group, the Republican Study Committee, calls for significant benefit cuts for all but the lowest-income workers by gradually raising the F.R.A. to 70, and through changes to the benefit formula that would sharply cut benefits for middle-income and affluent workers.

Okay? I'll deal with Medicare next time.