I'm a Canadian citizen, so this disucssion doesn't apply to me, and I don't fully understand how SS works (if someone would like to explain it to me, I'm interested).....
To me, the biggest issue is that the rules might change underneath you.....it sounds like something that would need to be phased in over years. If someone built their retirement plan with the reasonable assumption that they would get X dollars a year from SS, and that went away, you would rightfully be pissed, the rug got pulled out from underneath you. Especially if you'd paid into it all your working career.
And as others have said, an income (in retirement) test seems more reasonable than an asset test (if real estate is included).
In Ontario Canada, we have two governement plans CPP (Canadian Pension Plan, which is joinly funded by employees and employers over your working career - it is guaranteed in that it is funded and has a surplus) and OAS (old age security - a pitance of a little over $7000/yr, that is funded out of the current tax base - it is income tested, and clawed back if my income in retirement exceeds $76,000). I plan to keep my income below the clawback number. There is also a GIS (guaranteed income suplement) if you have a very low income in retirement. I think it would still keep you below the poverty line.
As others have said, I don't object to providing help to those that were the working poor all their lives, it's the folks partied their way through their working years and then cry poor in retirement that I have a problem with getting a hand out. But I don't want to live a life on that low income just to get a subsidy.
As the boomers age, I don't see how our governments can continue with the plans as they exist, there isn't the tax base to support it.