When Obama set up the Fiscal Commission, he made a big mistake. In an attempt at bipartisanship, he gave Republicans equal say, guaranteeing that the commission can make no recommendations that the Republicans don’t support, because they will goose-step together. To make matters worse, the Democrats include a notorious DINO. While I have reserved judgment until I see the actual report, I have come to think that calling it the cat food commission is not far off. Fortunately, Obama is taking a saner approach to the problem.

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he favored raising more revenue for Social Security to prolong the solvency of the U.S. retirement fund, rather than just cutting benefits or making people work longer.

Obama told a televised youth town hall event that he thought the best approach was to increase the amount of income subject to Social Security taxes above the current cap set around $106,000, but he did not rule anything out.

"I have said that all options are on the table. I think we’ve got to look at how we preserve it for the next generation," he said.

"I do think that the best way to do it would be to look at the fact that right now, you only pay Social Security taxes to about $106,000, and after that you don’t pay any Social Security tax," he said. "That could be modified or changed in a way that would help extend the solvency of Social Security."

His remarks lay down a marker for the president’s fiscal commission as it weighs options for Social Security that also include extending the U.S. retirement age, currently set at 67 for those born after 1960, or limiting some benefits… [emphasis added]