Just an interesting point I stumbled on
AARP has this faq called Ten Facts to Remember About Social Security that put the most interesting (to me, anyway) point next to last. I guess because it's wonky and factual...
9. Trust fund assets earned 6.7 percent in 2001, and the cost of administering Social Security is minimal.The trust funds are invested in special U.S. Treasury securities that earn market-based returns (6.7 percent in 2001). In addition, the trust funds' holdings of government bonds are not subject to the risk of price losses if they are redeemed early, unlike other bond investments. The trust funds will continue to grow until 2017. Under the Social Security actuaries' mid-range assumptions, assets will total nearly $3.3 trillion by 2010. In 2001, the Social Security trust funds had administrative costs of about 7/10 of 1 cent of every dollar of income. Social Security can achieve these low administrative costs because all Social Security tax dollars are reserved solely to pay benefits and administer the program. Social Security's administrative costs are appreciably lower than the average administrative cost of a mutual fund, which is about 1.5 percent of the account balance.
