For years policy experts have debated the merits of privatizing Social Security. Now, in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, there is a unique opportunity to translate theory into a real working system of individually owned, privately invested accounts. With the exit polls showing 57% support for private investment of Social Security taxes, George W. Bush is entering the presidency with a firm mandate to reform Social Security and has promised to make the issue a top priority for his administration.

On February 6–7, 2001, the Cato Institute will host Privatizing Social Security: Beyond the Theory at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. This conference will examine why we 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.

Invited speakers include Donald Marron, Thomas Saving, Martin Feldstein, Peter Ferrara, José Piñera, Michael Tanner, John Zogby, Eloise Anderson, Chuck Blahous, Shane Chalke, Wade Dokken, Milton Ezrati, Jagadeesh Gokhale, Bill McInturff, William Shipman, and Thomas Siems.

Since 1979 the Cato Institute has been seeking alternatives to the current Social Security system and has published more than 40 books, articles, and reports outlining the program’s problems and crafting innovative policy solutions.

Moderator: Bill Wilson, United Savers Alliance.

Charles Rounds, Suffolk University Law School
William Beach, Heritage Foundation
Thomas F. Siems, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Reengineering Social Security in the New Economy,” (PDF, 5 pp, 19 kb) Richard Jackson, Concord Coalition

Moderator: Sam Beard, Economic Security 2000

Star Parker, Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE)
Eloise Anderson, Claremont Institute
Michael Tanner, Cato Institute
Jagadeesh Gokhale, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Social Security Privatization and the Poor,” (PDF, 12 pp, 41 kb)

Introduction: Wade Dokken, American Skandia
Rep. Charles Stenholm (D‑TX)

Moderator: Deroy Murdock, syndicated columnist

Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report
John Zogby, Zogby International
Scott Rasmussen, Rasmussen Research
William McInturff, Public Opinion Strategies, “Turning Questions Into Answers,” (PDF, 13 pp, 164 kb)

Moderator: William Niskanen, Cato Institute

Andrew Samwick, Dartmouth College
Stephen Entin, Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation
Peter Ferrara, George Mason University/​Cato Institute
William Shipman, State Street Global Advisors

Moderator: Andrew Biggs, Cato Institute

Shane Chalke, Annu​ityNet​.Com, “Private Sector Alternatives Mitigating Participant Risk,” (PDF, 7 pp, 225 kb)
Don Ezra, Frank Russell Company, “Individual Accounts in Social Security: Practical Aspects of Risk and Regulation,” (PDF, 11 pp, 684 kb)
Gordon Boronow, American Skandia, “Speech for the Cato Social Security Conference,” (PDF, 2 pp, 8 kb)
Milton Ezrati, Lord Abbett, “A Realistic View of Risk and Regulatory Needs,” (PDF, 10 pp, 23 kb)

Moderator: Charles Blahous, Alliance for Worker Retirement Security

Daniel Lederman, Synergy Group Inc., “Operating Models for Pension System Reforms,” (PDF, 39 pp, 197 kb)
“Administering Individual Accounts,” (PDF, 18 pp, 308 kb)

David John, Heritage Foundation
Elizabeth Liess, Securities Industry Association
Gary Ferrier, University of Arkansas