Fixing Social Security: is the surplus the solution?

It may seem an attractive proposal-the Administration's plan of using projected budget surpluses to restore Social Security's finances-but it obscures the real trade-off we face in tackling this problem. The proposal is essentially a change in the accounting treatment of surpluses, deficits, and debt held by the public and in the Social Security Trust Fund. It would in no way alter the fundamental imbalance that afflicts the nation's most basic pension program.