Conrad shows courage, Pelosi does notBy Heidi Neel

Democratic Senate Finance Chair Kent Conrad just proposed a 16 member task force to deal with funding shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare. Conrad describes the shortfall as a "coming crisis" and calls his task force a "bipartisan panel for responsible fiscal action."

And not a moment too soon. In a 9/17 interview with the AP, Alan Greenspan expressed concern about expanding social programs, especially with a wave of 78 million baby boomers starting to retire in January. 

"The whole slew of candidates - it's mainly Democrats, but some Republicans - want to add to it more," Greenspan said. "Nobody wants to ... look at the issue and come up with a rational solution. This is, I regret to say, irresponsible."

And speaking of irresponsibility, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement last night on Conrad's proposed task force, indicating that no benefits will be cut. That's code for stick-it-to-young-people.

To be honest, that's not so much irresponsible as it is incredibly unfair. After being handed the gavel as America's first female Speaker of the House, Pelosi gathered her grandchildren at the podium, saying “Let’s hear it for the children. We’re here for the children.”

If only she were there for the children, she'd be focusing on long-term policies and how they affect future generations, rather than short term policies and how they help capture votes. Pelosi's no-benefit-cut pledge will heap upon her grandchildren a near 40 percent tax hike. So much for the children.

But not all politicians are concerned with merely capturing votes. In a recent interview with Senator John McCain, For Our Grandchildren's Tim Penny (MN-D) asked, "Are we Americans no longer capable of accepting a shared sacrifice for a common goal or good?" Check out what McCain had to say.

Let's hope that Senator Conrad can jump-start this much needed discussion on entitlement reform and that rational, responsible ideas prevail, spreading the difficult choices and sacrifices necessary to fix these social programs among all generations.