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2. The government started spending that money in the 1960s and there is nothing in the Trust Fund but non-negotiable, promissory notes from the US government adding up to the $2.6 trillion.

Not so.

Myth 4: President Roosevelt promised that the money the participants paid would be put into the independent "Trust Fund," rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement program, and no other Government program

The idea here is basically correct. However, this statement is usually joined to a second statement to the effect that this principle was violated by subsequent Administrations. However, there has never been any change in the way the Social Security program is financed or the way that Social Security payroll taxes are used by the federal government.

The Social Security Trust Fund was created in 1939 as part of the Amendments enacted in that year. From its inception, the Trust Fund has always worked the same way. The Social Security Trust Fund has never been "put into the general fund of the government."

Most likely this myth comes from a confusion between the financing of the Social Security program and the way the Social Security Trust Fund is treated in federal budget accounting. Starting in 1969 (due to action by the Johnson Administration in 1968) the transactions to the Trust Fund were included in what is known as the "unified budget." This means that every function of the federal government is included in a single budget. This is sometimes described by saying that the Social Security Trust Funds are "on-budget." This budget treatment of the Social Security Trust Fund continued until 1990 when the Trust Funds were again taken "off-budget." This means only that they are shown as a separate account in the federal budget. But whether the Trust Funds are "on-budget" or "off-budget" is primarily a question of accounting practices--it has no affect on the actual operations of the Trust Fund itself.

3. But, here’s where the article starts off all wrong: SS monthly benefits are not paid out of the Trust Fund, but out of current month/year collections of FICA tax tax.

Actually the payroll tax revenue for SS is deposited into the SSTF, which then makes the payments. Any "surplus" is deposited into the Treasury, which issues non-market, interest bearing T-bills in the amount of the surplus and deposits them into the SSTF.

4. The current year collections were always adequate until 2010, when they fell $30 - 40 billion short.

Not so. The assets of the larger trust fund (OASI), from which retirement benefits are paid, were nearly depleted in 1982. No beneficiary was shortchanged because the Congress enacted temporary emergency legislation that permitted borrowing from other Federal trust funds and then later enacted legislation to strengthen OASI Trust Fund financing. The borrowed amounts were repaid with interest within 4 years.

If you recall, Reagan made his famous deal on SS with Tip O'Neill in 1983 that raised the retirement age for full benefits from 65 to 67, increased taxes, and forced all new employees joining the federal government to be under SS. It was supposed to make SS "solvent" for the next 75 years. It didn't work.

All you've said is that SS receipts go through the Trust Fund where they are either paid to SS recipients or spent on general fund programs.

Calling what is nothing but a depository account for SS receipts the TF is just another government slight-of-hand. Normally something put in a TF will be there for a significant period of time.

The residual left in the TF is nothing but the non-negotiable, promissory notes from the US government.

And, it is correct to say that current SS benefits are not paid out of any TF, even if the feds choose to call the SS depository account a TF. The TF is composed of the surplus SS receipts over the decades, which were spent and replaced with promissory notes.

What you've described very clearly is government accounting games and a misnamed depository account for SS receipts and disbursements.