I can't find it either, now, but I do remember reading somewhere that it was being touted as a voluntary program.  I'd actually be more in favor of gradually shifting to a privately-run program, as was proposed a while back.

I'm not raising the question of whether or not the Trust Fund is risky.  I'm saying that it's just not there.  There's no cash in that fund and there never has been.  It's an accounting gimmick.  It doesn't work like a Real Estate Investment Trust, which invests in hard assets like real estate, mortgages or financial instruments.  That Trust Fund is invested in a special type of Treasury bond that can only be issued to and redeemed by the Social Security Administration.  When the federal government issues a bond from one federal entity to another, it hasn't really purchased anything or established a claim against anyone.  All it has done is written itself an IOU from one government account to another.

The fund has no real economic assets that can be drawn on to finance benefit payments.  Those "investments" (IOUs) are simply claims on the Treasury that will have to be funded by raising taxes, borrowing from the private sector or cutting benefits.  As I indicated in one of my prior posts, Social Security is already paying out more than it's taking in this year.  There is no Social Security Trust Fund and our elected leaders are being deceptive in stating otherwise.

Regards,
Scott Perry