Introducing the panelists

["Robert D. Carlitz" <bob>]

Welcome to the Roundtable on Investing in Stocks.

We are fortunate to have as panelists for this Roundtable two of
the foremost experts on Social Security reform.  Robert Reischauer
and Carolyn Weaver are experienced and articulate and have long
been in great demand for their insights into social policy.

Our two panelists bring contrasting viewpoints for the outcome of
the Social Security debate, and I'm sure they will provide us with
crisp commentary on the alternatives now before Congress and the
public.

You can find biographical information on the panelists in the
National Dialogue section of the Website along with brief position
papers on the subject under discussion.  For links to this material,
visit the Investing in Stocks page at

http://www.network-democracy.org/social-security/nd/rt/investing.html

I would like to invite the panelists to begin their discussion with
reference to their position papers.  And we would like to invite
members of the public discussion to address questions directly to
the panelists.  Please try to keep your questions on-topic with
regard to the issues under discussion in any given day.  We'll have
two weeks to cover these issues in some detail.

The subject of how Social Security funds are to be invested and
who should make these investment decisions is at the core of the
present debate over the reform of Social Security.  The issues can
be complex and subtle, but the present Roundtable should provide
us with the resources needed to deal with them thoroughly and
fairly.  I look forward to a very lively and informative debate.

Bob Carlitz, moderator
Information Renaissance