The government should focus on those things only government can do, such as the transfers to lifetime low earners that Social Security provides, and individuals and markets should do what they do best, which includes ordinary retirement saving for middle and high earners.

There are some interesting pension developments in Argentina that shed some light on Social Security policy in the United States.

Amishandling ofthe personal accounts issuewillendanger the Republican majorities in Congress and bea disaster for conservatives on issues in general.

When the First Continental Congress proclaimed that it stood for "Life, Liberty and Property," it was linking ownership of property to liberty in a free society.

To create personal Social Security accountswithout divertingcash from payroll taxes, the Treasury could issue bondsdirectly to personal accounts.

Personal retirement accounts with a structure using inflation-indexed Treasury bonds would deliver the benefits of personal accounts without the risks or costs often cited by critics.

Personal Social Security accounts could be a key structural reform by transforming Social Security, at least in part, from a program of payments from the government to one of savings and personal property. Current proposals, however, have generated many concerns and objections. To many people the accounts seem complicated, risky,...

This event will examine more radical reforms that — while aiming to accomplish the same goals as the current Social Security program — would do so through fundamentally different structures.