Tonight, I made my first foray into the official world of Citizen Journalism. Congressman J.D. Hayworth had the first of a series of Town Halls in Scottsdale on the issue of fixing the Social Security system. There are two other such meetings planned in other parts of Hayworth’s district.

About 100 people, an even mix of supporters and opponents, attended this meeting at the Sunrise United Methodist Church which centered around the Congressman’s desire to seek feedback and opinion on the future of social security. However, the evening mainly focused on his solution which is to privatize the system--or allow individuals to set up private self-managed accounts. Such a view is not popular with Democrats who see such a plan as only benefiting the wealthy.

After a 20-minute presentation--mostly outlining the inner workings of a privatized plan--Hayworth read aloud a number of questions from the audience, but the crowd was not to be denied its voice. A number of those gathered spoke out with suggestions and suggestions. Throughout, Hayworth lightly engaged with the crowd, stating that he welcomed input but never entered into one-on-one dialogue with those who were eager to point out the pitfalls of a privatized system. Some pointed to failures of a similar system in Great Britain while others blamed Congress and the President for mismanagement of the funds earmarked for Social Security.