[dionidium]

> Why would you expect it to continue existing just because it's popular now?

I'd like to turn this on its head: why are you particularly worried about Social Security? Any government program could disappear in the next 30 years. So why is your focus on Social Security? Why is this subthread so predictable?

It's because of a deliberate, targeted, FUD-campaign against Social Security by people who are ideologically opposed to it. Their fears are not genuine. They oppose the program in principle and benefit by sowing doubt. That's why you're making this comment in this thread and not in some other thread about some other government program.

> It's like global warming. If you wait to find out what happens, it's too late.

I don't think it's generally useful to pick holes in analogies, but this one is too big to ignore. Social Security is a man-made program. If we want to change it, we can just change it. At any time. For any reason. I'm not sure it could actually be any less like climate.

[Avshalom]

>why are you particularly worried about Social Security?

because the 1 of the 2 political parties in the USA, the one currently holding all three branches of the federal government, has been quite publicly trying to cut it for decades. Even if they don't get it accomplished today they have another 40-50 years worth of trying before "millennials" hit retirement age.

[dionidium]

Oh, right, so we have to distinguish two things:

1. One party wants to cut Social Security. This is obviously true.

2. That same party wants to convince you that it has to be cut or otherwise changed in significant ways or it will fail entirely -- which brings us back to #1.

In other words, #1 is driving #2, not the other way around. If you're worried about #1, then I'm with you. You should be. But this is generally presented as a worry about #2, which is really just a cynical ploy to get back to #1.

They want to cut Social Security for ideological reasons. But their plan is to convince you that it needs to be done for practical reasons. It's a pretty good plan that seems to be working quite well, because a whole bunch of regular folks who don't know what the word "insolvent" means are sure it applies to Social Security.