And exactly how would the SSTF be paid back? By issuing more IOUs, i.e., non-market T-bills. In the meantime, SS, a pay as you go program, will experience a reduction in revenue, which must be made up by cashing in the IOUs in the SSTF to make up the shortfall. The General Fund must come up with the money to redeem them, which should give one pause since 42 cents of every federal dollar is borrowed.
What this really is another stimulus plan using borrowed money and having SS as the conduit to give people what amounts to a rebate. There will be no real payback to SS since the USG will just issue more IOUs to the SSTF over a ten year period. The money raised to payback those IOUs will be used by the General Fund for whatever purpose it wants just like the SS surplus used to used when we had one. SS has been running in the red since 2010.
What is disgusting about all of this is that the USG will be spending $30 billion more this year than last year. We can't even reduce our spending.
Thanks for the graph, let’s hope Beohner sees it. The politicians will raise taxes for the General Fund to pay back Social Security IOU’s.