President Joe Biden and House Republicans have promised not to touch Social Security in their battle over cutting spending to address the nation’s debt ceiling crisis. But that vow could actually lead to financial disaster. The latest Congressional Budget Office projection found that Social Security’s retirement trust fund would be exhausted by 2032.

There are several ways to put Social Security on more solid financial footing, though each has its opponents on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

However, it’s unlikely anything will be done in the near term, in part because of the current lack of bipartisanship in Washington, says Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics.

“It’s only going to be more expensive, the longer you wait,” he says. “But Americans have a penchant for waiting to do things politically. So I just feel like nothing’s going to happen in the short run.”

Read more in the CNN article, “Not touching Social Security could lead to 20% benefit cut within a decade.”