The Social Security “Trust” Fund
From a New York Times article about how the social security system is running a deficit for the first time:
Mr. Goss, the actuary, emphasized that even the $29 billion shortfall projected for this year was small, relative to the roughly $700 billion that would flow in and out of the system. The system, he added, has a balance of about $2.5 trillion that will take decades to deplete. Mr. Goss said that large cushion could start to grow again if the economy recovers briskly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html?hp
The thing that’s so shocking about this is the concept that Social Security “has a balance of about 2.5 trillion that will take decades to deplete.” Of course, what they don’t tell you is what the implications are for Social Security holding that balance in U.S. Treasuries. In other words, if a dollar goes in to the social security trust fund it is immediately used by the government to buy its own debt. Thank goodness the Social Security trust fund has 2.5 trillion dollars of IOUs it wrote to itself. I personally owe myself a full 3.7 trillion dollars, so that should likewise take quite a few decades to deplete–glad I saved up.
Elsewhere, the AP has this covered.
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“personally owe myself a full 3.7 trillion dollars, so that should likewise take quite a few decades to deplete–glad I saved up.”
I laughed!