Just to chime in, social security isn't currently insolvent because of some specter of government incompetence -- that is to say, social security isn't insolvent just because it's a government program. Social security insolvency is due to the fact that congress currently holds a $6 trillion IOU to the American people thanks to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it's likely to never be paid. Note that I'm not arguing that Bush stole money from SS, but congress did approve funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that could have been used for more amicable efforts here at home.

If we increased taxes on the super-wealthy (and, let's be realistic here, marginally on the middle class), closed tax loopholes, and halted these neoliberal policies of nation building around the world, social security could be solvent until 2050. But that's never going to happen.

My point is that talk about the program's insolvency without actually pointing to the root causes of its insolvency perpetuates the myth that caring for our sick, disabled and elderly is a fruitless endeavor, and that any government program is doomed to failure simply because it's a government program.