As someone who lived through the Reagan years I can tell you that “concern about Social Security’s sustainability” was a mark of being ‘serious’. We have one person to thank for staving off the conservatives trying to ‘privatize’ (their motivations were a mix of ideological cant [govt bad / businesses good] — plus Wall Street really wanted those commissions). IMO, we have one person to thank for saving Social Security.

The person was… Wait for it… Nancy Pelosi. As I remember, when she was challenged as to when she would produce her own SS-replacement plan, she answered “How about never?”.