There really is no swap. The payroll taxes collected go immediately into non-market, interest bearing T-bills that are backed by the full faith and credit of the USG. They are IOUs just as much as any T-bill is.
Where would you want the SS "surplus" to go? It was/is a massive amount of money. We are no longer running a surplus and won't unless the program is reformed. The main problem with SS is not that the USG "stole" the money, but rather, the program is flawed actuarily (as is Medicare which has been running in the red since 2008). With 10,000 baby boomers retiring a day for the next 22 years, there is not enough money to pay the benefits promised. The entire SSTF will be gone by around 2035 and then reduced benefits will be required.
The real problem that is being caused now by SS is that it is running in the red and therefore, some of the T-bills in the SSTF must be cashed in to make up the shortfall. The General Fund has been running in the red for more than 60 years. Hence, we must borrow money to redeem the SS T-bills. During the period 1983-2009 SS was a cash cow. Now it is becoming a black hole. In 1983 when SS was running in the red, Reagan struck a deal with Tip O'Neill that increased SS taxes and decreased benefits. Something similar must be done now to save SS. Personally, I would prefer privatization, but there is not the political will to do so.
Actuarial? Haha, all collections go into ‘the general fund’, meaning there is no actuarial plan other than collect more from the stupid public when the new doles cost more than is coming in.
You lose 100% of the fights you walk away from. It's time to start rabble-rousing for privatization. Who would have thought one freshman Senator from Texas could stir up so much heat and noise on Obamacare?
/johnny
The fact that you can say with a straight face that taxes need to be raised to ‘save’ social security indicates you have no grasp of mathematics.
When the government collects the extra taxes, they will be immediately spent and the National Debt increased by that amount. All that does is reduce the perceived need to cut spending and create an even more enormous problem, albeit a few more years down the road. The problem gets bigger exponentially because the obligation to pay benefits grows with inflation, and there is no offsetting growth in assets to cover these costs. Then on top of that you add the 1% or so the bonds earn which is actually another increase in debt.
Social Security will collapse under every ‘fix’ except for privatization. Mathematical fact.