Where do my Social Security tax dollars go?
Many people, incorrectly, believe their Social Security taxes are being held in a government bank account with their name on it. This is false: your social security number is NOT a bank account number. In fact, Social Security tax dollars are not held anywhere at all: they are spent immediately on the benefits of current retirees and, because more is collected in taxes than is paid out in benefits, surplus funds are borrowed by Congress to spend on other programs. That means your Social Security taxes can be used for pork barrel spending projects like building bridges to nowhere.