Reply #17: In 2018, the government will have to start paying benefits

[kuozzman]

using the trust fund. In order to do that, they will need to either raise taxes or borrow money in order to pay the bonds. The trust fund is good until 2052 only in the sense that the govt. will have to raise taxes or borrow in order to fund it. THAT'S NOT RIGHT-THAT'S LIKE US PAYING THE SAME THING TWICE FOR NOTHING.

This is explained in the CBO’s annual report on the “Budget of the United States” annually, in some form or another. (2000 Report): These balances are available to finance future benefit payments and other trust fund expenditures--but only in a bookkeeping sense. These funds are not set up to be pension funds, like the funds of private pension plans. They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures. From an economic standpoint, the Government is able to prefund benefits only by increasing saving and investment in the economy as a whole. (2003 Report): The Government’s responsibilities to make future payments for social insurance and certain other programs are not shown as liabilities according to Federal accounting standards; however, they are measured in other contexts.