How will Congress pay its huge IOU to Social Security?

Richard Pratt, Las Vegas

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Rep. Joe Heck is a little ahead of himself when he worries about Social Security going bust in 20 or 30 years.

Before we get to that point, Heck and the other members of Congress have another problem to solve that they have been ignoring for years. That problem is how to repay the $2.6 trillion that Congress has borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund over the years.

Before Social Security goes bust, Heck and the Congress have to decide if they are going to borrow another $2.6 trillion from China or raise taxes by $2.6 trillion to pay back that little IOU tab they have run up.

The Republicans would like us to forget about this IOU and think there is a deficit in Social Security that is being paid out of the current budget. Nothing could be further from the truth. Congress is really paying back money it has borrowed from the Trust Fund.

I know that the Republicans have taken a strong stance against raising taxes for any reason, but it might be a little embarrassing for the Republicans if the Democrats were to point out the fact that the $2.6 trillion borrowed from Social Security is exactly the same amount that the Bush tax cuts have cost over the past 10 years.

Yes, folks, Social Security has been funding tax cuts for the rich. Only Congress can get away with creating a Ponzi scheme to cover up embezzlement.