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This is from 1998, and there is a lot better data on SS from 2005.

The trust fund is currently worth about 3 trillion...it is not going bust anytime soon.It is backed by government bonds that the US has never reneged on, and by law, can only invest in those US government bonds.

Social Security as we know it isn’t going to be touched by politicians for a decade, if then. Bush tried to just get a dialog going...you saw how well that worked.

What a crock.

The trust fund is worthless. The only thing social security has to back it up is the government's ability to confiscate money in the form of taxes.

The trust fund is currently worth about 3 trillion...it is not going bust anytime soon.It is backed by government bonds that the US has never reneged on, and by law, can only invest in those US government bonds.

Here is the situation:

Currently Social Security is running a surplus which Congress is spending every year to help reduce the deficit. But that number is beginning to decline (currently about 300 billion) and will be gone in 2016. Each year it is declining which gives less money to Congress to steal.

In 2016, the Social Security System will go to Congress to make up for the deficits it has after 2016 with the IOUs the Congress have given them. At this point they have enough IOUs to last them to 2040, but Congress has spent all the money. They will either have to raise taxes or cut spending to cover it.

In 2040 the IOUs run out and current taxes will only pay about a percentage of what is needed (about 30%).

“The trust fund is currently worth about 3 trillion...it is not going bust anytime soon.It is backed by government bonds”

Smoke and mirrors. Bonds issues by the U.S government are debts to that government, not assets. You can’t own your own IOUs.

“backed by government bonds that the US has never reneged on”

Well not yet...

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1017237120080110?sp=true