@thirdperson If solvency is the problem, easier solution is to lift payroll tax cap. the cap is just under 143,000!! both pay 6.2%!! your solution is to take more greenbacks from the everyday joe who won't ever see 6 figures in their lifetime to make up the difference? And the small business owner also takes a kick. Is there any legislation about these 10+ million undocumented, if they work, they must pay SSI?
Fixing social security is not hard according to Center for retirement research. There are options. If payroll taxes are raised by 3.5% points. government would be able to pay current benefits through 2098. Polls show most Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to maintain a vital social safety net for the poor. Before invention of social security, poverty rate was 50% among retirees. However the rich isn't paying their fair share of payroll tax which should be paid on all income by all workers just like medicare tax. Undocumented immigrants help to subsidize social security by paying billions in payroll tax and not receiving benefits. In the future, labor force needs more legal and illegal immigration because US population is projected to start shrinking during the 2040s.