Can a dysfunctional Congress rescue Social Security and Medicare from disaster?

For all of this week’s focus on Donald Trump’s legal travails — and the breathless commentary and speculation surrounding it from all quarters — there was significantly less ink spilled on what looms as a far more consequential development, at least in the long-term and for average Americans contemplating a secure retirement. The annual evaluation of the financial condition of Social Security and Medicare, released last Friday, outlined how both remain in deep financial trouble with the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund hurtling toward depletion in 2033, which is one year earlier than expected.