President Bush Lies

As a matter of fact, by the time today's workers who are in their mid-20s begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt. So if you're 20 years old, in your mid-20s, and you're beginning to work, I want you to think about a Social Security system that will be flat bust, bankrupt.
George W Bush, President Participates in Conversation on Social Security Reform, Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Washington, D.C., January 12, 2005

Truth

According the the Social Security Trustees, they will be able to pay 73% of the benefits in 2042 from current tax revenue and could pay full benefits if we raise the payroll tax from its current rate (12.4% combined employee and employer on the first $87,900 of income) to 14.29%:

Projected OASDI tax income will be sufficient to finance only 73 percent of scheduled annual benefits by 2042, when the combined OASDI trust fund is projected to be exhausted.
Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs, A SUMMARY OF THE 2004 ANNUAL REPORTS, Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees

Assuming the Trustees' intermediate assumptions are realized, the deficit of 1.89 percent of payroll indicates that financial adequacy of the program for the next 75 years could be restored if the Social Security payroll tax were immediately and permanently increased from its current level of 12.4 percent (combined employee-employer shares) to 14.29 percent.
2004 OASDI Trustees Report, IV. ACTUARIAL ESTIMATES, B. LONG-RANGE ESTIMATES