Who controls the purse strings? That’s the question at the heart of an ongoing debate over Social Security. The President is pushing a plan to partially privatize the system, to allow citizens a hand in saying how their contribution should be handled. “After all,” says the president, “it’s their money.” The President’s opponents actually agree that in the long view, the nation’s pension plan is in trouble: despite current surpluses, the impending wave of aging, retiring boomers generates images of Gen X’ers shopping for dinner in the dog-food aisle during their dotage.
But still, they say, money from the plan shouldn’t be pushed in the direction of the stock market. After all, just look at what happened to Enron! What to do with the nest egg, Social Security, Lock Box or Pandora’s Box?
Guests:
Olivia Mitchell, professor of insurance and risk management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and member of President Bush’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security
Peter Diamond, Institute Professor at MIT specializing in Social Security