Amen, sister! I have been working since I was 16 (I am 55 now) -- paying into SS and Medicare. My husband and I have also contributed to our pension plans, IRA's and 401k plans. We probably won't be able to retire at 65. My grandparents never paid into SS and got benefits. My parents are in their 70's and have gotten more in SS benefits than they ever paid in, thanks to me and other baby-boomers. I will be lucky to get out what I paid in --if I live that long.
My grandmother (b. 1895) got benefits based on my grandfather's work history; she did not work outside the home. My parents (b. 1920), certainly got back more than they paid in; as people in the workforce from 1946 until the late 1970s, they both rode the magic midcentury economic wave quite well.
My husband and I are 51 and have both paid into FICA for about thirty years, as well as funding our own retirement plans. The money we get from Social Security will be a "nice" addition, but it is hardly the core of our plans. If all goes well, we are looking to retire at 60, or at the very latest by 62. Life is too much fun to spend it at the office.