> Case in point: The social security surplus the U.S. ran when the baby boomers were young will be really useful as the baby boomer start retiring. That money e

> Case in point: The social security surplus the U.S. ran when the baby boomers were young will be really useful as the baby boomer start retiring. That money ended up being spent just like any other tax dollars. This is a bit deceiving, as it makes it seem like Social Security surplus has been spent. The liquid money may have been spent, but it was spent to buy treasury bonds for the Social Security Trust Funds [0]. When a deficit is finally encountered, those bonds and their owed interest will be used to pay obligations. I do understand that this is a bit of hand-waving, as it's basically the government buying IOUs from the government, but it's an important note when talking about Social Security and its solvency. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund