NewsHK
Senator Bill Cassidy is preparing to advance what he calls a "big idea" for Social Security reform in his final days in office, centring on a proposal to invest a portion of the programme's assets in the stock market — a structural shift that would redirect public retirement funds into equities on a scale the United States has not attempted before.
The Proposal: Equities as a Solvency Tool Cassidy has framed the plan as a response to Social Security's imminent funding shortfall, a fiscal pressure point that has shadowed the programme for years and is now close enough to demand legislative attention.
The senator's core contention is that channelling programme assets into the stock market could generate returns sufficient to help close that gap, effectively turning equity markets into a long-term backstop for the retirement system.
The proposal, as described, would have Social Security invest on its own behalf rather than through individual accounts — a distinction that matters for how the political and market risk is allocated.
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