“the surplus in the Trust Fund: it wasn’t spent, it was loaned.”
Well, there is often a conflation when this is discussed.
The money was indeed loaned and is being paid back.
However it is significant that it was loaned to be spent.
Had it been used (for example) to pay down the debt in preparation for the time when the government would face the burden of paying more in benefits than it would receive in payroll taxes then:
A. the TOTAL tax burden upon young people like the OP would be less
B. The cost of borrowing would be less.
Interestingly Gore promised to use ‘some’ of the excess taxes to pay down the debt, also the media meme is that Clinton would have done so but impeachment required him to use the money to please his congressional allies.
Which is all bull, but shows the obviousness of the situation at the time.
The mid to late ‘90s was the perfect time to pay a major chunk of the debt. That opportunity was completely squandered and we have seen the disaster since the turn of the century.
The last 7 years have been a complete catastrophe for the economic solvency of this nation.