zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

An accounting gimmick. There is no money in the "trust fund" (never
has been), just some IOUs with your children's name on them.

No, it is a generally accepted accounting practice. There is NO accounting
difference between the SS administration holding cash and the SS
administration holding government bonds. Just like there is no difference on
your personal balance sheet between you holding $10,000 in cash or you
holding a $10,000 CD from your local bank.


The *fact* is that SS taxes are simply taxes, like any other.

http://hnn.us/articles/10212.html

This argument seems quite similar to the recent one about universal health
care funding: Are people who are forced to pay money to the government for
health care insurance paying an insurance "premium" or paying a "tax."
Admittedly, the results are quite similar.