In 1995 the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform concluded, "If we do not plan for the future, entitlement spending promises will exceed financial resources in the next century..." (U.S. Congress 1995). Now, well into the next century, we have still failed to act. Yet the problem not only remains, but in many ways has intensified simply because we are years closer to the day of reckoning. Relative to both available revenues and societal needs, we have promised more than we can afford to an elderly and fairly well-off near-elderly population that will soon grow very rapidly as the baby boomers retire and life expectancy continues to increase.