I've seen that many people have no clue about the following:

"Causes and Effects

* A primary cause of the projected Social Security deficits is that the number of workers paying taxes compared to the number of people receiving benefits has fallen and is projected to fall further:

* Factors contributing to the falling ratio of people paying taxes compared to people receiving benefits:

1) Increase in life expectancy without a comparable increase in the retirement age:

• From the inception of the Social Security program through 2002, the full retirement age of 65 was not changed. A law passed in 1983 requires that it be increased in two-month steps to the age of 67 by the year 2027.[142] [143]

• When Social Security began paying benefits in 1940, the average 65-year-old male had a period life expectancy of 11.9 years. In 2006, the average 65-year-old male had a period life expectancy of 17.0 years. This is an increase of 5.1 years or 43%.[144] [145]

• When Social Security began paying benefits in 1940, the average 65-year-old female had a period life expectancy of 13.4 years. In 2006, the average 65-year-old female had a period life expectancy of 19.7 years. This is an increase of 6.3 years or 47%.[146] [147]

• Benefits and taxes are automatically indexed on an annual basis to compensate for inflation and wage growth. The retirement age is not automatically indexed to compensate for increased life expectancy.[148]

2) The higher birth rate of the baby boom generation compared to other generations:

• The baby boom generation was born between 1946 and 1965.[149] In 1957, the average birth rate per woman reached a high of 3.68.[150]

• By 1976, the average birth rate fell to a low of 1.74. In 2006, it was 2.12.[151]

• In 2011, the first wave of baby boomers will turn 65 years of age.[152] Between 2011 and 2030, it is projected that the number of people eligible for old-age benefits will increase by 62%, while the number of people paying Social Security taxes will increase by 17%.[153]

3) The increasing number of people receiving disability benefits:

• Between 1965 and 2009, the U.S. population grew by 54%. During the same period, the number of people receiving disability benefits increased by 458%.[154]"

http://www.justfacts.com/socialsecurity.asp