I listened, recently, to a press conference on a proposal put forth by Phil Grahm and Pete Domeniche(sp?) on Social Security Reform. They propose to save Social Security by creating an investment-based form of the program which would be voluntary. Individuals could elect to invest a portion (3%) of their Social Security contribution into annuities managed by a board of appointed officials. The individual investor would maintain sole proprietarship of the funds which he invests.

At first, I loved this proposal. I like the idea of creating tangible growth on one's Social Security investment, and the proposal provides a good plan for the transition from the old system to the new. I am concerned, however, with the implications of having our government taking such a proactive role in the financial markets.

Conceivably, the U.S. government could dictate the future of American business by controlling and investing what could be the largest "fund" in the history of our country. Perhaps instead, individuals could choose to invest that 3% on their own.

The fear is that the average person knows so little about investing that he will lose all his funds in high risk investments. Although I think that this should be fall under the category of personal responsibility, I can offer a more compromising solution. Guidelines should be put in place for Social Security investments, perhaps permitting the purchase of annuities, and mutual funds. This would keep the financial influence on the level of the individual while still ensuring that workers will have adequate funds to retire on.