Social Security Trust Fund Sits in Drawer in Parkersburg

The fund is a piece of paper obligating the United States of America to the amount owed.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) -- The Social Security trust fund really does exist - nestled in the bottom drawer of an unremarkable government file cabinet.

It's in a pair of white loose-leaf notebooks holding plastic page covers. Each caresses a piece of paper representing a bond worth a staggering amount of money. Say, $8,577,396,000.00 ($8.577 billion), due on June 30, 2013, with 6.5 percent interest.