There are, however, several major, perhaps unsolvable problems with this plan. The first problem is the proposal's interference with the active ingredient in Social Security: the Security. The point of Roosevelt's plan is to provide a safety net for all people, should they become disabled, infirm, widowed, or impoverished in their old age. This protects those who cannot provide for themselves from starving like wounded animals. As many Democrats argue, a substitute which would be based entirely on stock market investment would be tantamount to gambling. There is always the possibility that an individual will work their career faithfully and diligently and then squander their nest egg with some uninformed investing. Or worse yet, that they would invest smartly but have been fooled by fraudulent numbers from corporate criminals and lose their nest eggs thus.

But how much of a risk is taken is there? History has shown that, with a couple notable exceptions, investing is usually a pretty good bet. After all, even with great declines and temporary troubles, the raging bull that is the American economy always seems to come through for those who invested conservatively and wisely.

Most Americans do not know how to invest wisely, and many do not understand that the key is patience and to invest conservatively, and many, many, many have gambling addictions. Surely, some portion of the population will end up with too little money, and what will be done about them?

The risk involved is actually the lesser of the dangers. While some people will fail, still most will succeed. In some distant future, when the first of the Social Security-free Americans retire, there will at least be enough money in the investments to potentially pool some of it to account for the unsuccessful.

The greatest worries are economic, and these concerns are much more complicated and abstract. Remember that inflation drives down the real world value of a single dollar. But why? What is inflation, and where does it come from? And what does it mean?