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.
llewis@crdf.org
What do you think?
E-mail me your reply and I will post it