Nobody stole or misused the Social Security taxes (trust fund) money, nobody‼️
Here is how it works, and has since 1936.
This is essentially how all of our government is financed.
To cover the shortfall and pay its bills, the Treasury Department borrows money by issuing (selling) debt securities, primarily Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and other instruments (like TIPS).
• These securities are sold to investors—including the SS Trust, individuals, banks, funds, businesses, foreign governments, and the Federal Reserve. Buyers essentially lend money to the government in exchange for interest payments and repayment of principal later. The bonds sold to the SS trust are special in that they cannot be sold on the market and do not fluctuate in value.
• The national debt is the accumulation of all past borrowing (mostly from deficits, plus interest). Persistent deficits cause the debt to grow. Interest payments are about $1 trillion a year.
As of the latest reports from the U.S. Department of the Treasury (early 2026), foreign countries hold approximately $9.3 trillion of U.S. debt. While many people assume China is the top creditor, Japan has held the #1 spot for several years.+1
Here are the top foreign government holders of U.S. Treasury securities as of January 2026:
Bonds held by intergovernmental trust fund like Social Security, Medicare and the Highway Trust fund are essentially accounting entries to isolate funds.
These are accounting mechanisms in the federal budget to track earmarked revenues (dedicated taxes, fees, or transfers) and link them to specific expenditures. They do not hold cash separately in a “lockbox”—money flows into the U.S. Treasury’s general account, and the trust fund records credits. Surpluses are invested in special Treasury securities (intragovernmental debt).
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