Save Social Security first. But no one called the president's bluff. Let me explain.
Workers pay taxes, nearly all of which are then turned over to beneficiaries.
The assets in the trust fund won't help beneficiaries, since they need cash to pay rent, not IOUs. So the trust fund will ask the Treasury for the money. Back to the surplus. Again, that surplus will be used to pay off bonds as they come due. Social Security does face a crisis in 2013 and beyond.