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We agreed that the amount of money going into the traditional benefit should be exactly 12.4 percent of payroll , no more and no less than the payroll tax today . The last Congress approved a dozen such requests with barely a peep , afraid of " not supporting our troops . It ’ s far less prone to various forms of left-wing regulation ; it ’ s far less prone to more generous pension spending towards government employees ; it has a far less progressive tax rate . The second reason it ’ s important to act now is that while we have Social Security surpluses in hand , it means that we can phase in some of the painful elements of the plans , benefit cuts and tax increases , and by doing it gradually they become a lot more politically feasible than if you announced a large tax increase or benefit cut that was going to be implemented tomorrow or two years from now . The role of government in the regulation and provision of residential and nursing care for senior citizens in the U.S. has been limited . Puss , who seemed in a great measure recovered from her illness , now made a hearty meal of the dead bird , and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction . A better idea would be to stop examining each application and instead automatically accept all disability claims , then audit a sample ( like the IRS does for tax filings ) to weed out fraud . I mention this circumstance , because I think it probable that hereafter the individual in question may attempt a balloon ascension with the novel gas and material I have spoken of , and I do not wish to deprive him of the honor of a very singular invention . My object is simply , in the first place , to say a few words of Von Kempelen himself ( with whom , some years ago , I had the honor of a slight personal acquaintance ) , since every thing which concerns him must necessarily , at this moment , be of interest ; and , in the second place , to look in a general way , and speculatively , at the results of the discovery .