Reply #31: Not true.

[Statistical]

If govt didn't borrow from SS then the value of trust fund would decline in real terms due to inflation.

SS isn't insolvent. there is no need to even "repay" SS from general fund yet. SS won't begin having negative cashflow (payments more than SS taxes) until 2017. Even then the negative cashflow is tiny until about 2023.

So the only thing that needs to happen is in 2023 taxes need to rise to slowly "repay" SS the $3.6 billion is borrowed (currently $2.4 borrowed so far it will rise to $3.6 billion by 2016 = last year of surpluses).

It really is that simple.

From 1980 to 2016 SS had surplus cash. The govt kept INCOME TAXES low by using that surplus cashflow. It makes more sense than borrowing money from China. From 1980 to 2016 the total amount of money the general fund will borrow from SS is $3.6 billion.

However that deal comes to an end in 2017. The govt will then simply need to raise INCOME TAXES and start paying SS back. Once the $3.6 billion is repaid most of the Boomers will have died and SS receipts will be more than enough to pay for retirement of next generations.