A powerful social insurance program is especially important for financing the later years of retirement, when no one can know who will still be alive and who won't. Given this logic, a working synthesis isn't difficult to figure out. Use PRA's to assist in financing the first ten years of a person's retirement. Use the Trust Fund to assist in financing retirement's later years. Republican cobblers are good at making shoes that fit a person's right foot.
Democratic cobblers are good at making shoes that conform to the left foot.
The stalemate can readily be ended by a joint agreement to make shoes for both feet. Democrats should support Republicans in setting up PRA's to help in financing Social Security benefits during the first ten years of retirement. In return, Republicans should support Democrats in building a strong Trust Fund to aid in financing the later years of retirement. The notion of making shoes for both feet is not without precedent in the Social Security debate. Not only did the Kerrey-Simpson bill authorize the creation of a PRA system, it also authorized the development of a stronger Trust Fund.