Social Security University: a four-day series of policy luncheons on the Hill sponsored by the Cato Institute. Each event outlines the need for reform and addresses the potential of Social Security choice.
Monday, August 26, 2002
Social Security 101: The Program and the Problem
Cato Institute Social Security experts Michael Tanner and Andrew Biggs will discuss how the current Social Security system works, how it is financed, and why reform is necessary. They will examine the current benefit structure, the nature of the Social Security Trust Fund, and the assumptions behind the trustees’ projections of coming insolvency.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Personal Accounts: Facts and Fantasy
Andrew Biggs will discuss how personal accounts fit into the debate about Social Security reform and will examine major individual account proposals, both in Congress and by the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs will examine major critiques of personal accounts and sort out fact from fiction.
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
The Alternatives to Individual Accounts
Although proposals for individual accounts have been much debated, there has been far less discussion of the alternatives. Michael Tanner and Andrew Biggs will discuss other proposals for Social Security reform, including tax increases, benefit cuts, and government investing. They will look at proposals from prominent opponents of individual accounts from Congress, academia, and special interest groups.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
The Politics of Social Security Reform
Pollster John Zogby will review the latest public opinion findings and discuss how Social Security reform may impact the fall elections. Zogby, who has polled likely voters numerous times on this issue, will address polling results on voters’ opinions of individual accounts and look at how the politics of Social Security reform will affect both sides of the aisle.