Suppose you had a bank account and every year deposited $10k. Lets say after 10 years, you decided to splurge and buy a car, so you don't make a deposit and instead attempt to withdraw $15k. And then, instead of giving you the money, the teller calls the manager over. After reviewing the situation, he declares your account insolvent because outflows are exceeding inflows and demands that you increase deposits or he won't give you any of your money...????
The trick about social security, the need to be vigilant, centers around the fact that it is currently in surplus: Excess social security revenue is use to fund the general budget. This excess revenue thus displaces otherwise required income taxes. In effect, a social security suplus enables an income tax cut, while a social security net-outflow requires payback: an income tax increase.
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