EDITORIAL: Alarm bells go off on Social Security

Retirement has become a dream deferred for many, a casualty of the nation's punishing recession. And the hard times that eroded savings and property values have also chipped away at Social Security. The program will pay out more in benefits this year than it collects in payroll taxes - a line it wasn't expected to cross until 2016.

Retirees, and those looking to join them soon, needn't worry. Their checks won't be affected. The $2.5 trillion surplus Social Security accumulated in previous years will enable it to pay full benefits until 2037, even if Congress does nothing to shore up the program. But passing this marker is a warning of a brewing storm.

There are a few basic options for extending the program's solvency. Washington can generate revenue, likely by raising taxes. It can reduce costs, for instance by raising the retirement age or slowing the rate at which benefits increase. Or it can fashion some combination of the two. The federal deficit reduction commission should help point the way to solvency when it reports in December. But the problem isn't figuring out what needs doing. It's finding the political will to get it done.

Voters will play an important role. If those on the right punish elected officials willing to raise taxes, and those on the left punish those willing to reduce benefits, the expected outcome is clear. Timid lawmakers will be paralyzed and commonsense reform will be all but impossible. That's a nightmare future retirees can't afford. hN