Social Security as Ponzi scheme

Andrew,

I agree with virtually all your readers in the batch of letters you published as pushback against the idea of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme (in fact, I made a similar point as the first writer in a comment on the Indiviglio site).

But your last reader, who tried to make the point about the safety of T-bills as investment vehicles, probably would not have tried to make that point if he (or she) had realized that the Trust Fund is *required* to be invested in T-bills.  Yeah, it is safe, but there was no casting about for safe places to stash the cash and then deciding upon Treasuries.

The reader should instead have made the point that the reason the law says to invest the surplus in T-bills is that they are, indeed, safe there.


Your pal,

Fred