Originally Posted by
Seran
Current benefits are always a percentage of the retiring income, so while you're technically correct that it cannot last forever, I disagree with your reason. The Social Security trust fund is not a trust funds as many think of it, which would be similar to an escrow or investment account. In fact the "trust fund" is interest bearing general bonds which are held as payroll taxes fail to meet a current obligation. The last accounting I saw was $2.93 trillion.
So, while you're technically correct in that it cannot last forever, the easy fix of increasing benefits age, lowering benefit or raising payroll taxes periodically increase the longevity of it's solvency.
Now, Social Security Retirement was meant as a basic income, to supplement savings, so that retiree's weren't living on the streets. The downward trend in homeownership and stagnant wages mean there's no savings or cost reductions such as having paid off your mortgage. This isn't the failure of SSA, but rather the government in leaving the minimum wage unchanged.