The Center for Strategic and International Studies convened the commission. Its members brought diverse views to the deliberations. Some came as advocates of broad privatization while others carried a dose of skepticism about market-based solutions. Beyond our commission, we listened to many experts, as well as average Americans. Unlike other commissions where differences sharpen and positions harden as discussions progress, the airing of legitimate concerns led each commissioner to move beyond individual opinions and toward a consensus between ideological poles.
Some critics argue that individual accounts are too risky for lower-income individuals.
We believe that it is more risky not to give lower-income individuals the opportunity to invest in the stock market. It is precisely this lack of equity investment, an opportunity lost largely to high payroll tax rates, that has left too many Americans on the fringe of the economy. For low-income people, the plan's individual security accounts are a bonus above and beyond the guaranteed traditional benefits and would provide an opportunity for wealth creation largely unavailable today. We were not seduced by the remarkable return figures from the current bull market. Rather, we looked at the rates of return of the stock market over the past century.