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The trust fund held by America's Social Security Administration is projected to be depleted sometime in 2032. People are speaking of this as if it is a crisis which requires immediate action if we wish to prevent a catastrophe.

The truth is that there is not now, and there never has been from the beginning, a genuine reserve fund which the SSA can dip into to continue paying benefits when outlays exceed inflows, as has been the case since 2010. In the past, there were many years when inflows exceeded outflows, but the excess has always been spent by the Treasury as part of the general budget and replaced by paper issued to the SSA by the Treasury.

It's all smoke and mirrors, and the paper held by the SSA has no value. The only purpose it serves is to pave the way for the Treasury to provide the needed funds to pay benefits. The Treasury has to raise new funds to pay the benefits whether there is a phony trust fund or not, and the only crisis is that in 2032 the scheme will need a new set of smoke and mirrors.