Who is this fictitious "they" you speak of? Because as far as I know, when I started watching my SS deductions going into Uncle Sam's coffers at the tender age of 18, I was of the opinion that SS was going to be safe, secure, and happy come age 65 when I could start using it. I had no real desire to change it, because it wasn't broken at the time. I'd wager the majority of us thought it was secure and solvent as we plodded along with our McLives. Fast-forward another 30 years, and it's a different story, but just like everybody else, I've already committed a big chunk of change, and I kinda doubt Uncle Sam will give it back to me because I'm pissed at how they managed the fund. Am I one of those "they" who failed to see the oncoming train wreck?
It is a pyramid scheme that does not take advantage of compound interest over time, it was bound to fail from the beginning. I am 27, and I have been campaigning against it since I was about 18 years old. To be fair I have had the internet since before then and thus a bit more easy access to information that is important to my future. I have also had people tell me in junior high and high school that it would probably not be there for me when I retire.
There is nothing that has happened in the last x number of decades that could not have been seen in the beginning. Of course more and more people would get on SS as they got older, and thus benefits would have to be adjusted downward. It is not like we just recently discovered that 18 year olds eventually morph into 65 year olds, mortality and birth rates are easily predicted and calculated as well.
The lady in the story got what she asked for with SS, at the expense of people like myself who will get nothing. She has no right to complain, she could have figured out at any point in her life what SS was going to give her without much trouble at all. It is no one's fault but hers (and maybe Fistful's) that she neglected to even once in her life do the math for something that is so important to her and then plan accordingly.