Thirteen years ago Bill Shipman invited 25 people to Boston to discuss an issue most participants had rarely considered, Social Security. The participants were responsible for the retirement plans of the largest corporations and state pension funds in America. The four-hour session was led by the Commissioner of Social Security who served under Presidents Reagan and Bush (41).

The next year, 1994, the Commissioner asked Shipman to testify to Congress and offer his views on Social Security. In October Bill Shipman testified that the Social Security system, however compassionate in intent, was fundamentally flawed in design and financially unsustainable. He suggested that the country consider reforming the system from a tax-based to a market-based structure wherein individuals save and invest for their retirement needs.

Shipman’s comments were observed by the Cato Institute, one of Washington’s prominent think tanks. The following year Cato requested that he write a paper to be published by Cato and asked him to be the co-chairman of Cato’s Project on Social...