"The [Co-chairs' 'Deficit reduction] proposal seemingly ignores a crucial point: while average life expectancy is indeed rising, it’s doing so mainly for high earners, precisely the people who need Social Security least. Life expectancy in the bottom half of the income distribution has barely inched up over the past three decades.So the Bowles-Simpson ["deficit reduction"] proposal is basically saying that janitors should be forced to work longer because these days corporate lawyers live to a ripe old age….
The goals of reform, as Mr. Bowles and Mr. Simpson see them, are presented in the form of seven bullet points. “Lower Rates” is the first point; “Reduce the Deficit” is the seventh."–
Paul Krugman, The Hijacked Commission," NY Times, Nov. 12, 2010 link at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&bl