A special share of the blame for the problem is definitely reserved for the politicians. But in the end the system is irreparably flawed because the ratio of retirees to workers keeps growing.
IMO, the problem, 73ss454, is that yes, the Boomers paid their dues, but as a group they will pull out of SS far more than they put into it, because the system was designed poorly. When Boomers were young workers, they had to support a much smaller older generation of retired workers who lived for fewer years into retirement. It was a large group of young workers paying for a small group of short-lived retirees. The dues the Boomers paid reflected that.
Now we'll have a situation where a much smaller generation of young workers will have to support a much larger generation of Boomers receiving SS, living longer lives. I guess that's ultimately just a result of the Boomers having fewer children. It's really nobody's personal fault, but it is a problem with the system. And everybody's been ignoring it.
As Gatsby said, the only way out of the mess that I see for myself and my family is to get out of the rat race as soon as possible and to reduce my tax burden as much as possible.
I am not one for generational warfare either. And I understand your thinking that since you paid your dues you feel you have SS coming to you. But I have been "paying my dues" for over 10 years, and I expect to pay my dues for many more years, and there's a very good chance that I won't get anything back for it, or at least not anything anywhere near what you guys are getting back.
Many people my age feel the same way. So if we seem bitter at times, well, maybe you can see why. But whatever ... it's not going to change so I just treat SS as a tax that goes into the same black hole as all other taxes.