Feel that cold breeze blowing out of hell yet?
I sure do...and I just think it's a matter of time before anarchy takes place, much like what is happening in Greece and other parts of the world.
Greece's misfortune is our gain: we've been warned.
The reason Greece was first was not because it was the most indebted country (we have individual states in the USA that are even bigger basket cases, especially when you consider local and federal debt loads overall), but rather, because of the size of the problem compared to the size of the country. Greece doesn't have a lot of clout with its creditors. It does not have its own central bank as the USA does, and even if it did, its currency is not an "international reserve currency".
So, as you realize, the only difference between Greece and the USA in terms of debt is that their system was brought down at an earlier stage of contagion. Ours will go down when "too big to fail" becomes "too big to save".
What will happen when concessions are demanded of US recipients of social security? I don't know but I'll take some intelligent guesses.
I doubt seniors will be rioting in the streets. But they'll react in the voting booths. This is dangerous: they'll respond to whatever politician makes them the best offer, regardless of all other considerations.
So, for example, if a politician said "we must invade Syria to be able to afford social security", they would be apt to go along with it. If that sounds implausible, bear in mind they can spin anything; they're paid to. The fact that there is no logical or causal connection would only occur to the dupes after it becomes painfully obvious they've been had.
What about welfare programs? I think many of those will last longer, because since Clinton's "end of welfare as we know it", a high ratio of the recipients work; they are subsidized labor rackets that benefit specific politically-connected corporations such as Wal*Mart, Marriott, Krispy Kreme, etc. Programs for women with children and no husbands, not tied to employment, might be the first to go. Would the men in their lives riot if the women were cut off and ended up on the streets? I don't know. Maybe.
Some programs seem to already be straining, such as food stamps, food banks, and Section 8 housing vouchers. Expect trouble there. My guess is that they simply won't be able to expand as fast as demand for them. There have already been riots in gigantic lines waiting for Section 8 vouchers. Wait til food banks run out of supplies before getting to the last folks in the line.
