"We fund federal debt with two kinds of instruments, public debt and agency debt. The first is money we borrow to "finance the federal deficit." Then there is agency debt, money mostly from trust funds that accumulate surpluses. "By law, trust fund surpluses must generally be invested in federal securities."

So where does that money go? What are these federal securities?

This is my generation's conundrum. We know that the trust funds are accounting gimmicks. The budget itself puts it this way: "... it does not provide the account with resources other than a legal claim on the U.S. Treasury, which itself obtains real resources by taxation and borrowing; and its current interest does not have to be financed by taxes or other means."

The country is blowing the money now -- promising that future taxpayers will cough up the dough. Yet, at the same time, our generation wants to have faith in the trust funds. We need to believe there is a financial path being prepared for our retirement and health needs as we age (this sounds so much better than the nasty collection notice we are giving to our kids)."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Trust funds not worthy of the name (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2/12)

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