By the way, I've not forgotten I owe you (and many others... ) a response but my internet's been wonky; expect a long one on UN uselessness.

Republicans won't budge on tax increases and Dems won't budge on entitlement reductions. This proposal from Coburn and Lieberman (who really should just bite the bullet and declare himself a Republican, though he's probably right on this issue) might provide an alternative, but it will be very hard to convince Dems up for re-election next year to raise Medicares eligibility age AND increase premiums for "wealthier" Medicare recipients. I suspect the devil's in the details on what constitutes "wealthier", and having millionaires on Medicare pay a larger share of the cost simply to avoid ALL millionaires paying for more of it seems counterproductive to the whole basis of they system; an out of pocket system for beneficairies could eliminate any true "benefit" of a federal program. It'll be hard to sell in any event, and if Republicans really are prepared to compromise on military cuts