Politicians from both parties have been able to avoid Social Security’s impending insolvency for decades because bankruptcy was still years away. It was a little over the horizon, and for our irresponsible politicians, out of sight has been out of mind. But according to the latest Social Security trustees report this week, bankruptcy is upon us now. The Social Security trust fund is estimated to run out of money in 2032. That means whoever wins the next presidential election in 2028 will have no choice but to confront Social Security in the final year of a first term. Whoever is in office then will have surprising flexibility in deciding what happens next.First passed in 1935, Social Security did not begin collecting taxes until 1937 and didn’t pay out any benefits until 1940. Payments into the system far outstripped benefits paid out in the early years, and Congress created the Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund in 1939 to manage excess funds.As originally sold to voters, Social Security was supposed to be self-financing. But starting with President Harry S. Truman in 1950, presidents from both parties pandered to elderly voters by boosting benefits. Stagflation sent the trust fund to the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s, and Congress responded by raising payroll taxes and cutting benefits in 1977.