Election 2010: Teabaggin' the Ds & Rs

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

Haven't the "official" deficit numbers for the past 25+ years have treated the SS Bonds as off of the *deficit* books? The general fund takes the SS surplus and has not counted the bonds issued to SS as deficit.

Or am I imagining something?

I guess it depends on what "off books" means. The deficit figures commonly cited include the surplus revenue from social security, which makes the deficit seem smaller than it "actually" is (i.e., non-SS government spending is even more in deficit compared to non-SS revenue). Is that on book or off book?