For nearly 100 years, the United States has maintained one of the world’s more successful models of social insurance, protecting Americans from the death of a spouse or parent, disability and old age – essentially the risk of outliving one’s savings.

These are things most of us fear regardless of our means, and – despite the rhetoric – these are not welfare programs. Americans pay into them, and without Social Security, we all will bear more risks that will directly impact our wallets, and potentially the high quality of life we have become accustomed to since its creation.

This is why touching Social Security has been viewed as a “

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