I mostly agree with this, but Obama's proposal might actually make some policy sense: if the trust fund isn't 'real' saving but essentially a subsidy to the rest of the budget, then it doesn't make much sense to raise Social Security taxes before the system starts running deficits (2017). Admitting the trust fund isn't real saving would probably cause Obama more problems on the left than it's worth, though, so I don't expect to hear this explanation.