For awhile now the common and well used meme about the shortfalls in the social security system is because Congress has taken the money out to fund wars and such…..is this true?

If you were to peruse social media message boards on topics/articles pertaining to Social Security, you’ll commonly find that Congress is the scapegoat. Specifically, some commentors point to the idea of lawmakers stealing or raiding Social Security’s trust funds to fund wars and other line items, and failing to “put the money back, with interest.”

The thing about popular opinions on Social Security is that what’s popular isn’t always what’s right. In this instance, the idea of Congress stealing trillions from Social Security is completely baseless.

In August 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Among the laundry list of provisions and rules set forth by the Social Security Act of 1935 is the treatment of any excess income (asset reserves) collected — i.e., income collected above and beyond what’s paid out in benefits and used to cover the SSA’s administrative expenses to operate the program.

By law, any excess income collected by Social Security is to be invested in special-issue, interest-bearing government bonds. U.S. Treasury bonds are exceptionally safe and backed by the full faith of the U.S. government.

What’s most important to note is that every cent of these special-issue government bonds is accounted for. In fact, the SSA publicly updates the combined asset reserve amount for the OASI and Disability Insurance Trust Fund (DI), along with the average interest rate it’s generating on its asset reserves, every month. As of the end of December 2024, the combined OASI and DI held around $2.721 trillion in asset reserves, with an average yield of 2.557%.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2025/01/20/has-congress-stolen-trillions-from-social-security/

There is a very simple fix for any shortfall…..that would be to make all people pay into the system with no exemptions…that could raise the money to cover the shortfall and possibly work on a excess that could be beneficial to retirees that have work hard for their entire lives.

Like I said simple….but billionaires have the clout and the cash to stop any reform of the SS payment system…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”