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The muses sang sweet music to me tonight, during, of all things, the Democratic debate.

While the candidates were pontificating about some of the most serious problems we face, like sending our young people off to die in a senseless war, the looming Social Security crisis, out-of-control prescription and medical costs, I had something of a revelation. We can solve all of those problems with a single bold stroke.

Draft the elderly.

Why do we send the young off to war, anyway? They have their whole lives ahead of them, while the elderly have pretty much lived out their lives already. And being late in life, they're just going to be racking up huge medical bills and draining the Social Security pool.

Life expectancy in America is 78 years. After that, you're pretty much living on borrowed time anyway, so off you go to Iraq, or wherever the war du jour happens to be. Between the war casualties and the exhausting second and third and fourth tours, the life expectancy average should get knocked down pretty quick, along with all the expenses that go along with living to a ripe old age.

Sure, some of you may think this is a little radical — especially the sixty-something set. But it's better than doing something totally outrageous, like raising taxes to, you know, pay for things that are actually worthwhile.