Yet the political stalemate on Social Security reform, though understandable, is both dangerous and expensive. It cannot be allowed to continue. An effective strategy for saving Social Security must somehow be pieced together. Let's begin with three cards dealt face up. This stalemate has many fathers.
Political partisanship is, of course, at the heart of the stalemate.
The quest for partisan advantage on Social Security decreases the likelihood of a rational compromise. In addition, the scale of the problem is vast, and most of its proposed solutions head toward uncharted territory. Congress is stalled partly because the American people don't know yet what kind of solution they want. Being stalemated is costly. Over the long run, saving and investing is the least expensive solution for Social Security.