In the case of the Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI), we have nearly run out of time to kick the can any longer. The program's YTC is exactly ONE, as in the fund will run out of surplus funds at the end of next year and will then be able to pay only 81 cents of every dollar of benefits it has promised.

Now, you may wonder why I would even talk about Social Security disability insurance in the same breath as global warming or a crumbling infrastructure. I, on the other hand, am amazed that the program's plight is not the stuff of major news stories every day.

Social Security disability insurance is, after all, a story about the impending collapse of an enormous human infrastructure program. More than 11 million disabled workers and their family members received SSDI payments last year. The average monthly benefit is about $1,150. In families where other family members also qualified for benefits, the average family benefit at the end of 2013 was $1,973 a month. In nearly all SSDI households, these payments are crucial to putting food on the table and keeping a roof overhead.

Now, I'm sure that some of these 11 million people are not really disabled and that they are gaming the system. But I also am sure they represent a very small percentage of SSDI recipients. In terms of people that society needs to help, most of these 11 million folks deserve to be at the top of the list.

Keep in mind that people need to have worked, often for many years, to even qualify for Social Security disability insurance. With very few exceptions, these are not society's deadbeats. These are the good guys—the men and women who have earned livings and need our help when they can no longer do so. If you think $1,150 a month is some kind of prince's ransom, well, you try to live on it.