Republicans are hoping no one will notice their rapid retreat from the issue of Social Security.

The president's proposal would reduce benefits for people living on Social Security and subject what was left to substantially greater risk.

We still face a longer-range deficit problem and that will be exacerbated by increases in Medicare and Social Security payments, ... It would be helpful to bring our budget deficit down longer-term. I worry more about that than this temporary increase in the deficit.

Some of it will be covered by insurance and Social Security, but the rest of it we just don't know.

I don't know of any bills we have. My pension and Social Security aren't huge, but between them we do nicely. We don't require a whole lot.

So there is a bookkeeping way to say that I am not using the Social Security cash flow, but the overall effect on the taxpayer and the economy is the same. The government is borrowing additional net money.