Audio & Video Archives

Social Security University (2/18-21/03)
A Cato Institute four day policy series on the Hill that features Michael Tanner, director of the Cato Institute's Project on Social Security Choice, and Andrew Biggs, Social Security analyst, Cato Institute, and former staffer to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security.

Social Security and Young Americans (9/10, 12, 19, 14/02)
The Cato Institute's September 2002 series on Social Security and Young Americans, cosponsored with America's Future Foundation and Third Millennium, brought experts from both sides of the reform debate to discuss the reforms that Social Security will need if it is to survive into the 21st century.

Social Security and Hispanic Americans (5/21/02)
A Cato Institute and Hispanic Business Roundtable conference examined the issues surrounding Social Security from a Hispanic perspective. Leading experts from across the political and ideological spectrum looked at what Social Security means to Hispanics and how reform would impact their retirement security.

Social Security: A Women's Issue (4/9/02)
A Cato Institute/Women Impacting Public Policy Conference featuring Leanne Abdnor, June O'Neill, Grace Hinchman, Michelle Singletary, and Vanessa Summers. This conference examines the issues surrounding Social Security and women. Leading experts from across the political and ideological spectrum look at what Social Security means to women and how proposed changes will impact retirement security.

Social Security and African Americans: Race, Retirement, and Reform, (3/19/02)
A Cato Institute and National Black Chamber of Commerce conference featured experts from across the ideological spectrum. The conference examined the issues surrounding Social Security from an African-American perspective.

The Importance of Social Security Reform (2/27/02)
House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) takes on the biggest challenge facing the federal budget over the coming decades: Social Security. With the retirement of the baby boomers and the aging of the population, the cost of paying Social Security benefits will rise by over 50 percent within the next 20 years. Armey, a former economics professor, discusses the problems facing Social Security as well as his proposal to make the program self-sufficient by allowing workers to invest in personal accounts.

An Inside Look to the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (2/12/02)
As a Cato Social Security analyst and a staff member of the commission, Andrew Biggs provides details of the commission's findings. Hans Reimer, a prominent critic of the commission, and Maya MacGuineas of the New America Foundation, who served as Social Security adviser to John McCain and who testified for the commission, will offer commentary.

The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security - Archive (7-12/01)
The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security met with an end goal of giving Americans at least partial ownership of their payroll "contributions." Read the commission's reports and watch the commission's meetings here.

Cato's Radio Ads on Social Security Privatization (4/23/01)
A five-part series of radio ads on Social Security. The ads were designed to educate the public about the problems facing Social Security and options for reform.

Privatizing Social Security - Beyond the Theory (2/6-7/01)
A Cato Institute conference featuring Donald Marron, Martin Feldstein, José Piñera, Michael Tanner, John Zogby, and Wade Dokken.
The conference examined the need to privatize Social Security and how to do so, including how to finance the transition; how to regulate and administer individual accounts; how privatization will affect women, the poor, and minorities; and the politics of privatization.

The Interim Report of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security: An Evaluation (7/26/00)
A Cato Institute Policy Forum featuring Thomas Savings, Member President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security with comments by Robert Bixby, Concord Coalition; Roger Hickey, Campaign for America's Future; Michael Tanner, Cato Institute.

New Century, New Deal: How to Turn Your Wages into Wealth through Social Security Choice (10/30/00)
A Cato book forum featuring Wade Dokken, Chairman of American Skandia.

Social Security: Is It "A Crisis That Doesn't Exist"? (10/05/00)
A Cato Institute policy forum featuring Andrew G. Biggs, Social Security Analyst, Cato Institute; Dean Baker, Coauthor, Social Security: The Phony Crisis; Richard Jackson, Senior Advisor, The Concord Coalition; and Eugene Steuerle, Senior Fellow, The Urban Institute.

Solving the Global Pensions Crisis II: The Privatization Revolution (03/09/00 - 03/10/00)
A Cato Institute conference featuring José Piñera, William Shipman, Tim Penny, Milton Ezrati, Klaus Friedrich, David Willetts, Charles Murray, Douglas Atkin, and Fernando Solis Soberón.
The conference evaluated the experiences of countries that have privatized government pension plans, examined more recent moves toward privatization, and looked at issues for the future in both the United States and abroad.

The Future of Social Security (08/14/99)
A Cato Institute Policy Forum featuring Michael Tanner, Director of Health and Welfare Studies, Cato Institute; Lisa Davis, Senior Policy Analyst, The Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; Jim Hutter, Professor of Political Science, Iowa State University; Scott Hodge, Senior Fellow for Tax and Budget Policy, Citizens for a Sound Economy.
Presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Alan Keyes who were in Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa Straw Poll participated in this Saturday forum on the future of Social Security.

State and Local Government Retirement Programs: Lessons in Alternatives to Social Security (04/07/99)
A Cato policy forum featuring Rick Gornto, Designer and Architect, Galveston Alternative Plan; Valerie VanDeweghe, Benefits Administrator, City of San Diego; Thomas Lussier, Executive Director, Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement Board; and Carrie Lips, Social Security Analyst, Cato Institute.

Five million state and local workers are exempt from Social Security and instead participate in retirement plans administered on the state and local level. Those plans provide valuable information for Social Security reformers about the benefits and drawbacks of program structures. A panel of experts will discuss details of the state and local plans and the lessons they provide for Social Security.

Speech by José Piñera at the White House Conference on Social Security (12/9/98)

Social Security Reform In Chile
Chuck Scarborough of WNBC in New York presents a special investigative report on the pension system in Chile. Features interviews with José Piñera and various Chilean workers. Posted courtesy of NBC. (video, 13 minutes)