RE: Trust Fund cynicism - right mood, wrong target

["Steven H. Johnson" <info@sscommonsense.org>]

JamesK 51 makes the point that the public has always been in a
position to find out how much of the government surplus actually
represented a Social Security surplus, and how much represents an
operating surplus.

And suggests, therefore, that the choice of the verb "lying" was
probably inappropriate.

That's a reasonable argument, if we assume a broadly informed 
public, a careful media, a willingness on the part of everyone
to go beyond sound bites and look at what's really happening,
and no motivation on the part of politicians to get credit for
running a surplus when, in fact, they're still running a 
deficit.

I'm not sure those are valid assumptions, though.  
Clinton wants to claim a surplus, when there's still an operating
deficit, so that he can look good.
Gingrich (remember him) wanted to claim a surplus so he could
start making tax cuts.

I think the intent has been to deceive.

And the private industry analogy is terribly important.
Private sector companies are not allowed to paper over operating
deficits by adding in the surpluses received by their company
pension programs.  
One of the key points of the ERISA reform, as I recall, was to
block exactly that kind of misreporting.

And it's also true that the lack of an arms length relationship
between the Trust Fund and the Treasury has become a source
of great public suspicion.

If the Trust Fund is to be established on a foundation that the 
public finds completely trustworthy, the current relationship
needs to be changed.
The politicians do need to be taken out of the picture.
The nation's retirement assets ought to be out of their reach.
If this change isn't made, the Trust Fund will never be given
public permission to accumulate a sizable pool of capital.
If this change isn't made, if the Trust Fund isn't allowed to
accumulate a much more significant pool of capital, then 
we'll wind up cutting benefits.

That would not be a healthy outcome.

-Steve Johnson.