Cheney backs Social Security changes in speech at Catholic University

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Vice President Dick Cheney told an audience at The Catholic University of America in Washington Jan. 13 that the administration's plan to change Social Security could yield greater retirement benefits for those who invest in the stock market. Two days after President George W. Bush launched a campaign to fundamentally change the Social Security program with the claim that the system is headed toward bankruptcy, Cheney reiterated many of the president's points and disputed critics of the proposals. For example, Cheney said the answer to concerns about the financial risks posed by workers withdrawing from Social Security in favor of personal investment accounts "is simply to set guidelines, basic standards of safety and soundness when it comes to investment choices." Cheney said investment in the stock market can yield more substantial savings than a worker could earn through Social Security, and called securities markets "the best, safest way to build substantial personal savings."