"You keep missing the math. It's entirely irrelevant what interest rate is paid because there isn't any money there... just debt. If they artificially declare that SS will be paid 5% above market rates, then the impact on the amount that they must pay out over the coming decades is entirely unchanged.

Of course there's no money in the trust fund... even the interest paid is lent back. So if your idea is that if the trust fund had been getting 40-50 billion a year more in interest for last 7 and, say, the next 3 years would not extend the life of the trust fund... then I think we have nothing left to discuss.

And no, I don't in any way believe that SS is anything like a bank account. It's an insurance program. But contributions made in my name are accounted for.