Posted on 10/29/2025 11:07:04 AM PDT by reaganator
First off, I want to be told how I am wrong. For many decades, when there was a surplus to the Social Security contributions this money was moved to the general fund and spent. In place of this spent money are $2.7 trillion of U.S. Treasury Notes in the Social Security Trust Fund Reserve. To redeem these treasury notes that merely represent the spent surplus Social Security contributions new money must be collect from taxpayers or federal deficit spending exercised. The $2.7 trillion of U.S. Treasury Notes cannot be used to demonstrate the solvency of Social Security which is often done.
Do you think this post is about me? I am against the Social Security system as it exists today. For decades there was a surplus in Social Security because the contributions exceeded the outtakes. The surplus contributions were spent on other government expenses and U.S. Treasury Notes are held to represent this spent money. The only thing that gives these treasury notes any value is the power of the federal government to collect money from future taxpayers. No Social Security contribution was ever put into any real wealth creating investment. When you are told that the $2.7 trillion of U.S. Treasury Notes in the Social Security Trust Fund Reserve can be used to demonstrate the solvency of Social Security without the mention of the process to redeem those treasury notes you are being misled, lied to. The only way to make Social Security solvent would be to allow participants to put some of their Social Security contributions in real wealth creating investments and own their individual Social Security account. The federal government has already demonstrated that they are willing to use federal deficit spending to make up the financial shortfall as they have done for the last five years. I would NOT be against actions taken to cause Social Security to be solvent.
Listen one more time: in 7 years tariff revenue could buy back all those tbills and more. You’re fixated on one solution.
The cause of the problem with Social Security is that none of the money was ever put onto any real wealth creating investments. The money was spent. It does not matter where the money comes from, tariffs, federal deficit spending, new taxation, the Social Security system will not be reformed and made to be solvent by its own means unless correct changes are made to the system. Many believe the only problem with any failed government program is that it is underfunded. More money is not the remedy needed for Social Security.
It seems to me that for all the talk about a trust fund and contributions, SS ends up being operated just like the other welfare programs. Today’s taxes get transferred to today’s recipients. Any money one paid to SS while working was gone years ago.
And the financial shortfall in Social Security continues to be covered with federal deficit spending which we all pay for with inflation. Mixing unearned money with our earned money devalues the dollar.
You are repeating yourself. The financial shortfall in Social Security is not the problem; the financial shortfall is result of the problem. Putting more money at the front end of the Social Security pyramid scheme no matter where it comes from does NOT solve the cause of the financial shortfall. I know, my letters are not big but read that as many times as it takes for you to understand.
Tariff revenue has not one thing to do with the Social Security system. Tariffs are a means to obtain more favorable economic trade deals with other nations. When more favorable economic trade deals are obtained the tariff rate will decrease and the tariff revenue will decrease also.
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