Isn't the root problem a case of demographics? Because of the baby boom more people are retiring and collecting than ever before. Problem is when demographics swung in the other direction we didn't save the surplus, congress spent it. I should also add that the original social security really was a 'savings program'. However over the years we've added benefits such as support for spouses and dependents. It's not really surprising we are at this point. Hopefully there's a way to fix it.