I'm the one that believes reality trumps ideology.
Full faith and credit is a two way street, that's something you cannot contemplate. Promises made on but not kept over decades, come back to bite us all in the end.
I say **** the system, before it ****s us.
So, what are you really upset about?
a) That President Obama is reluctant to place Social Security reform on his 2011 agenda?
b) That spending reductions in Social Security benefits weren't part of his 10-year deficit reduction plan?
c) That our government has constantly placed IOU's in the Social Security Trust Fund?
Which is it?
Now for a little perspective...
You really can't blame the man for not attempting to tackle an issue that won't become "dire" for another decade. I mean, let's face it, it's not like revenue via taxation will ever go away. In short, there will always be employment opportunities in this nation (though scarce they may be at present), and as such, unless the payroll tax is abolished, revenue will always be collected for Social Security benefits from it. As such, you really can't be mad that he didn't cover the issue in his 10-year deficit reduction plan. I mean, it does make sense NOT to mess with Social Security until you really have to. And right now, we don't have to.
Now, let's get to the teeth of the matter...
The payroll tax is a labor tax. Only those individuals who work or are self-employed who earned an income up to a certain wage limit (somewhere around $100K; I forget the exact amount) pay into the Social Security system. And only those individuals who retire from the labor force (or those who are disabled) receive Social Security benefits. Now, it's true that the Baby Boomer generation is retiring in large numbers and that's feeding into the "reform Social Security Now" frinzy, but the nation also has a millions of disabled individuals who receive SSI/SSDI who very likely did not pay into the system. Add to that the fact that Medicade Part D isn't paid for and it's no wonder Social Security is going broke far sooner than expected.
To that, Rep. Paul Ryan is correct; Social Security does need to be reformed. But it's not something that needs to be done today.
So, again I ask, "What are you really upset about?"