Should Social Security Buy Stocks?

Sen. Collins thinks it's worth considering:

Some have proposed investing a portion of the Social Security trust fund in the stock market as a means of building up reserves and addressing or delaying the Social Security shortfall. These investments could be made directly by the government--like our State retirement funds--or they could be made by individuals through what have come to be known as "personal retirement accounts."

Collins proceeds to say that, "I would not support an effort to privatize the Social Security system."

But as Maine Politics notes, revamping Social Security to include separate personal accounts that invest in stocks is exactly what proponents of privatization were arguing for...until they realized that "privatization" was unpopular.

Then they started calling their plan something else.

Collins' position is certainly in line with her supporters at NFIB. But do Mainers want the Social Security trust fund investing in the stock market?