“After 2033, even if Congress does nothing, there will still be sufficient assets (from payroll taxes) to pay about 75 percent of benefits. That’s not acceptable, but it’s still a fact that there will still be substantial assets there”
Michael Astrue – Social Security Administration Commissioner

“But Astrue went out of his way to emphasize that the program is far from broke. Social Security took in $69 billion more than it spent last year, according to the report, when you include tax receipts and interest on bonds held in the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF). The SSTF had reserves of $2.7 trillion last year.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/social-security-really-exhausted-not-175539433.html

Read the article. All the myths are exploded. There’s plenty of time and money to reform Social Security for long-term solvency…unless you have a vested interest in making it go away.

But why would anyone have a vested image in making it go away?

1) Lower Taxes for the rich, who figure they don’t need SS so they see no need to pay for their share of it; as well as no contributions to Social Security payroll witholdings from employers.

2) Less workers retiring means they’ll be desperate for income, have to stay on the job longer, helping keep competition for jobs and unemployment up and therefore, salaries down.

3)Privatization of pensions, providing a lucrative “business opportunity” to the stock market and other financial parasites, not to mention a bottomless source of cash for those who get rich investing other people’s money. What could possibly go wrong with that, eh? You’ll recall the GOP was pushing hard for privatization just before stocks and real estate crashed during the Bush era.

Follow the money.