When "we" work, we pay FICA taxes, which are "real money" things, as real as money gets. That money goes into the SSTF, which I presume has value, and gets invested in T bills, which I presume have value. Of course, it's all beholden to the ability of the government to redeem those bills, but I think there is "real money" involved.
I know a lot of folks believe what they pay comes back to them directly and that SS will be completely defunct by 2035, or "soon" because either Bush or Clinton or Obama or Trump "stole" the money. A lot of things are not well understood.
I also know any politician proposing any changes gets pilloried.