So, before the 2028 solvency crisis?
For decades there wasn't a social security or medicare fund. What was there was taxes. Workers paid taxes, and those taxes went to retired people. There was no fund. Then people freaked out about the boomers and what that would do to retirement. So they created a fund- they started collecting more than they needed, invested it in government debt so it would grow, and used that to get over the bump.
We can easily solve the "solvency" crisis by simply raising taxes. Remove the "cap" that says people are only subject to the social security tax on the first $160,200 of their income and the "solvency crisis" completely disappears. In fact if we completely removed the cap, rather than just raising it, we could afford to pay out more in social security while still extending the life of the "surplus" fund for almost a century.
Anyway, if it is so simple and easy, it raises the question: why hasn’t anyone legislated this yet? You know, during one of those sessions where both houses and the presidency are of the same party (two occasions in recent memory, one for each party) and put all talk of crisis to rest?
1. Keep the donors happy
2. Keep getting elected
3. Line up a cushy position as a lobbyist or other government orbiter after retirement
Pretty sure actually serving their constituents is at the bottom of the list for most politicians.
I'm not saying this is actually true -- it's just my hypothesis.
Because it's not necessary yet, and the political issue is useful to both parties.
Democrats get to go "we should tax the rich more to fix the gap".
Republicans get to go "look how badly this is run, we should privatize it".
Neither side wants a horde of seniors (who vote, in large numbers) actually losing their Medicare/Social Security benefits, so when the time comes, they'll vote to add funds and celebrate themselves for saving it for another few years.