it most assuredly is. And so is Medicare. Here is the sad reality.”
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I am not saying that it is not mismanaged, and I understand your point.
It is, however, still a fund that we all pay into, expecting a return.
I do not put it into the same category as a “tax”, even if it winds up being used the same as a tax.
You can expect anything you want but the money is gone. There is no "trust fund" and there never was. The so called trust fund is just an accounting fiction designed to dupe the public into agreeing to pay the tax.
There is no money to pay yours or anybody elses "benefits" other than funds raised through current tax revenues or borrowed by floating new treasury debt. And the obligations are now so huge that no amount of taxing and borrowing can pay the bill. That is why the game is now over.