[OneWingedShark]

Blue Dog Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) said that most Americans do not understand that federal entitlements are not “bank account” programs that hold their money, adding that Social Security is not even a legal guarantee -- "Legally, they're not even promises."

Then why does the government send out paper which says that it is an account and shows the contents thereof (i.e. a statement)?

Perhaps we should heed the observation that was made in antiquity [by Aristotle, IIRC] that shifting definitions are indicative of an immoral intellectual dishonesty.

[rogue yam]

Then why does the government send out paper which says that it is an account and shows the contents thereof (i.e. a statement)?

They do this to mislead you. Plain and simple.