I am almost 50 years old. i have been paying into Social Security since days after turning 14

[davidn3600]

16. Social Security isn't part of the deficit...its a whole different problem

The problem is you got a very large retiring generation (baby-boom) that is living longer, and the smaller youth generation are not finding adequate work that pays high wages. This means we got a lot more money going out in benefits than are coming in through tax revenue. The current estimate is SS will run out of funds by the early 2030s unless something changes.

Medicare has the same problem.

Look at it this way. In 1955, for every retiree in the United States, there were 16 workers in the labor force. Today that number has plummeted to 3 workers per retiree. And in a few decades it will drop to 2 to 1.

That, my friend....is the problem. Raising taxes isn't going to fix the problem because you got a larger retiree population trying to pull benefits out of a drying pool that has less income to fill it. It's not only about taxing the rich, it's about paying young people the salaries that they should be getting. When you got college grads coming out of college forced to wait tables because there are no other jobs that pay better, it hurts all of us.