Rick Perry has gotten a lot of heat for describing the Social Security system as "a Ponzi scheme," and he deserves it. The Texas governor owes a big apology to Charles Ponzi. Sure, Ponzi fleeced investors, but they at least had a choice about participating. Social Security operates on a compulsory basis.

In other respects, though, Perry has a point. In a Ponzi scheme, new investors have to be continually recruited in order to provide fat returns to earlier investors. It works fine until you have so many investors to pay off that you can't find enough new ones to cover the cost.

Social Security is like that.
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Is this issue so politically explosive that Perry has done himself serious harm? We don't think so. Americans are not full of naive illusions about Social Security. They grasp how unlikely it is that the program can continue without major reforms. And they may be prepared to contemplate what those might be.

This campaign could begin an adult conversation on this vital subject. Let's see if [Mitt] Romney wants to be an adult.