Independent
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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- Oct 28, 2006
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Yes, there have been surpluses.Policy Basics: Understanding the Social Security Trust Funds | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
This said investing it invests the surplus in Treasure securities and Treasure bonds.
And according to this link, we had a surplus since 1984 to 2016. At least from what I can tell.
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v75n1/v75n1p1.html
That does not contradict my statement that "the great majority" of payroll taxes were used to pay benefits in the same year the taxes were collected.
On your graph, compare the "primary income" to "expenditures". They are not identical, but the difference between them is much smaller than the overlap.
When people say "if I could have kept my taxes and invested them ...", they are assuming that the benefits didn't get paid in those years.
If the context is that the benefits got paid, the the phrasing should be "If I could have kept that fraction of my taxes that weren't actually used for benefits and invested that fraction ...."
The table I referenced in the Trustees Report can be used to calculate that fraction, if anyone is interested. (or, we could eyeball an estimate from your graph, it's probably the same data)