Wish is were that easy. "Pay as you go" puts the blame on no one.. "Trust Funds" puts the blame all over the place!
Here's a better 'read' than I could possibly write:
What Are the OASDHI Trust Funds? The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), Disability Insurance (DI), and Hospital Insurance (HI) trust funds are separate accounts in the United States Treasury to which FICA and SECA taxes are credited.
How Are the OASDI Trust Fund Dollars Used? By law, FICA and SECA tax dollars are reserved solely to pay benefits and administer5 the OASDI and HI programs. Dollars not used to pay for current benefits or administration are invested by the Treasury in special issue, interest-bearing United States government securities6. An analogy would be an individual who, after paying the monthly bills, buys a Certificate of Deposit or puts money into an interest-bearing account. And, analogous to the way a bank or money fund might invest an individual's dollars in loans for mortgages or college educations or building shopping centers, the United States Treasury invests the Social Security reserves in administering the federal government, i.e., paying for highway construction, defense, Head Start, and so on.
The trust funds hold the securities just as an individual investor holds the certificate or savings book. The securities earn interest for the trust funds, just as investments do for an individual. In 1998, $49.3 billion in interest was earned and then reinvested in securities belonging to OASDI.
Why Have Trust Funds? The securities held by the trust funds are future financial claims against the government. Securities in the Social Security trust fund accounts, along with other Social Security revenues, give the Treasury the authority to write checks. Just as a positive balance in a checking account means an individual can draw on that account, a balance in the Social Security trust funds means that checks can be written on the Social Security account.
While all government programs have Treasury accounts, for Social Security, the trust fund designation means that the total amount received by Social Security beneficiaries is not subject to the annual Congressional appropriation process. As long as there is are balances in Social Security's trust fund accounts, benefits are paid with monies designated specifically for that purpose.
The Social Security trust funds represent a long-term commitment on behalf of the government to Social Security. And, as long as the program has been in operation (64 years), the government has not defaulted on these claims.
What Is the Current and Future Status of the OASDI Trust Funds? The Trustees, using the intermediate, or best estimate, assumptions in the 1999 Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Trustees Report, project that the OASDI trust funds will accumulate assets for the next 15 years.
However, the Trustees project that beginning in 2014 some of the interest earnings will need to be combined with tax revenue to cover benefit payments. By 2022, income (including contributions and interest) will fall short of expenditures, and it will be necessary to start redeeming the trust fund securities. The Trustees report projects the OASDI trust funds will be depleted in 2034.
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