This, the administration argues, makes the reform of the Social Security system all the more urgent.

ECONOMIST: Holding the line? | The

But it would be most imprudent to stall on fundamental reform of the Social Security system and trust to these uncertainties.

CNN: A Debt-Threatened Dream

Reform of Social Security, the state pension system, is dead.

ECONOMIST: The president's economic team

If passed, this will be the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important reform of our health care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama on Senate Passage of Health Reform

Finalize proposals for tax and social security system reform before the end of FY 2011, including raising the consumption tax rate to 17 percent and basic pension benefits of 70, 000 yen per month for all persons 65 years and older.

FORBES: "Key to Rebuilding Japan: Ten Decisions and Actions"

Conservative Republicans have long championed the privatisation of Social Security and a wholesale reform of America's tax system.

ECONOMIST: George Bush's tax agenda: Handing it back | The

It is also considering ways to fundamentally reform its social security pension system, perhaps privatizing a portion of it.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

Mr Kerry, for his part, offered no meaningful reform of Social Security at all, despite the fact that the retirement of the baby-boom generation will soon swing the system into huge deficits.

ECONOMIST: Another small step for Kerry? | The

It will make reform of Social Security harder by reducing the budget surplus that could have been used to finance the costs of moving from one pensions system to another.

ECONOMIST: The prospects for George Bush: Whacked? | The