The latest "In Depth" column from the Dallas Fed has a discussion of Social Security and Medicare reform, with the apt kicker "No Free Lunch."
In this article, we first discuss why these programs are big and getting bigger, outpacing the growth of revenue. We show that large tax increases or benefit cuts will occur to address this shortfall, no matter how much we might wish they could be avoided. We explain that Social Security and Medicare involve transfer payments from the young to the elderly rather than actual saving. We then explain that scaling back these transfer payments would increase national saving and give future generations a better standard of living. Doing this would, however, impose a transition cost on current generations.
Many people hope for, and some people promise, a free lunch that will allow this transition cost to be avoided. Unfortunately, there is none. It is possible to shift the burden from one group of people to another, but no policy proposal—including privatization—offers an escape from that burden. If future generations are to be made better off, the transition cost must be paid.
Plenty of scary pictures, like this one
And this one.
For more on this issue, have a look this blast from the past as well.