[My hearts in London - Everett]

This guy I know who works for SSA says they are not “IOUs”. That they are government Treasury bonds, or securities, or something like that (it’s been a few weeks since I talked to him). He says that whatever is backing SSA is payable upon demand to the SSA by the US Treasury. I knew when he said it, it was a crock and that what he was saying was just the opposite of the figures put out by conservatives, but he’s the “expert”, so I kept my opinion to myself.

[DuncanWaring]

He says that whatever is backing SSA is payable upon demand to the SSA by the US Treasury. I knew when he said it, it was a crock...

Actually, he's correct.

But, for every dollar in bonds that the SSA redeems from the Treasury, the Treasury must sell a dollar in bonds on the open market (or the Benbernank has to print a dollar).