Gene Steuerle makes a progressive argument in the American Prospect against subsidizing middle-age retirement through Social Security. In recent negotiations, many liberals focused so intently on protecting the current benefit system that they overlooked real opportunities to improve the equity and progressivity of the system. America needs to look at all the elements of our nation’s social contract those created deliberately and those that arose by accident and question whether they forward our goals of social justice and progressivity as well as make the best use of our most valuable resource, our people.