The Future of Social Security: A Cato Institute Policy Forum

August 12, 1999

Saturday, August 14, 1999, 9:00 a.m.
Holiday Inn Gateway Center
US 30 & Elwood Drive, Ames, Iowa

On August 14th, Iowans will take the first step toward choosing the next president of the United States. And no issue will be more important in the coming presidential election than Social Security. For that reason, the Cato Institute and the Public Interest Institute are co-sponsoring an informational forum on Social Security to be held in Ames, Iowa, the site of the Iowa straw poll. Speakers on both sides of the debate will discuss the possibility of privatizing Social Security by allowing individuals to invest their own payroll tax dollars.

Presidential candidate Steve Forbes will speak at the forum. Forbes is the first candidate to confirm attendance. All of the presidential candidates have been invited. The forum will also feature Lisa Davis, senior policy analyst at the Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Iowa State University Professor of Political Science Jim Hutter, Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute, and Scott Hodge, senior fellow for tax and budget policy at Citizens for a Sound Economy.

Tanner believes that Social Security should be seen as a family issue: "Social Security can't survive the next century. This is a key issue for families. The choices are clear: either pay more in taxes to prop up a dysfunctional system for a few more years, or develop a system of private accounts so that families can control their own financial destinies. The reality is that women and children have the most to gain from reform that returns responsibility for retirement to families, where it belongs."

The Cato Institute has played a crucial role in the debate over Social Security's future, providing extensive research on all aspects of the advantages of moving to a system based on personal ownership of retirement accounts. Members of Congress from both parties have drawn on Cato reports on possible new structures, transition costs, administrative issues, the impact on women and minorities and worldwide trends in privatization of state-run pension systems. Among the bills that would allow individuals to redirect a portion of their payroll taxes to personal retirement savings accounts is one sponsored by Democratic Senators Bob Kerrey and John Breaux, which has been endorsed by Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley.

2001 Index | 2000 Index | 1999 Index | 1998 Index