Analysis Of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Signed Into Law

On August 14, 1935 in Austin, Texas, President Franklin D. Roosevelt inked his signature on the Social Security Act. It was originally implemented to resolve problems with unemployment, old age insurance, and public health and welfare. The Great Depression was the catalyst for the creation of the Social Security program, and the basic structure was very similar to Germany’s social insurance programs from the 1880s. Today, social security is mostly used for retired senior citizens starting at the age of 62. At 62, American citizens can begin to collect, but will only receive 35% of their monthly benefit due, rather than the maximum amount of 50% when they reach the full retirement age of 66. (cite) In addition, social security is dispersed to about 14 million disabled people under the age of 62, who can no longer work in the labor force for various reasons. The people who qualify as disabled are just a small percentage of those collecting compared to senior citizens, and are often not mentioned when social security issues are brought up because of their minute effects on social security distribution.

Our nation ensures social welfare through Social Security. However, the United States cannot ensure the welfare of its own welfare system. To save Social Security, Americans in general do not favor an increase in the payroll tax, a cut in benefits or an increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, Americans are relying upon Social Security as their sole source of income at increasingly alarming rates. Social Security is intended to supplement retiree income, not account for 100% of it. Through elimination of the potential options, that leaves one necessary action: invest the Social Security trust fund in the stock market.

After its passage on August 14, 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt regarded the Social Security Act as “a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means completed” but whose purpose is to “take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” The very opposite of soundness, however, was achieved. Today, looming deficits and abuse of the program have left it the focus of many debates. At their conclusion, the discussions generally only point toward making it more difficult to receive the money you put in, back, and raising taxes drastically on those still working to provide benefits for the disproportionate amount of retirees. Its problems are vast, but a permanent solution has yet to be decided. Far less discussed, however, is if the program itself is worth saving. Because of

Roosevelt and his Economic Crisis Committee, in 1935, came up with the simple idea of providing benefits to the generation of retired workers from tax money of currently working generation. Roosevelt put this straightforward idea into the system to make it work, and it surprisingly has worked out well so far. When the bill became a law in 1935, there were many people who were affected by the Great Depression and sought financial aid. Unlike the bank money that goes in loans and still depositor have access to the money; Social Security System passes out collected money immediately into benefits (“Social Security System”). This way, the working generation will always provide enough money to the fund. Rather than providing money from government fund, idea of benefiting citizens from their own money didn’t receive

Social Security came about when Roosevelt wanted workers and consumers to have more independence to back their own interests on the market in order to support his New Deal’s countervailing powers. While the initial plan was to use the respective American’s contribution and a portion of the general revenues of the U.S Treasury, Roosevelt opted for a more “self-financing plan under which old-age pensions worked on the model of insurance premiums” (Rauchway 98). When the worker would retire from old age, they would be able to draw their pensions without any governmental intervention. This would provide minimal amount of protection to average Americans, but unfortunately it could not be applied to all workers due to its restrained financial limits and late addition compared to other

The United States of America is one of the most diverse places in the world. We all share different cultures, beliefs, and problems; nevertheless, economic security is a universal, human problem that each society has had to encounter in some way. The term “social security” was introduced to the United States in 1935, during the Great Depression, when the Social Security Act was passed. Social security has created about 16 social welfare programs over the years. These programs were developed to give millions of Americans a sense of economic security and to show that the government cares about the well-being of their own. The most popular programs under the Social Security Act are Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Medicare and Medicaid Programs. These programs have greatly influenced the lives of many United States citizens and allow our people to feel secure.

In as early as 2012 it is estimated there will only be two workers paying taxes for every one recipient of Social Security benefits. At that time the surpluses generated each year will cease, and Social Security will begin to run a deficit (paying out more than it takes in). The government will then have to begin paying back the money borrowed from the trusts, plus interest. Since no money has been saved for this purpose, the government will be forced to increase the national debt, cut

In the early 1930’s the United States was building its industrial base. During this time a large number of American workers became dependent on wage income. Due to the dependency of wages older American workers generally bore the blunt of economic downturns. In addition to, many individuals lost wages due to disabilities and death; also retirements were not adequately planned for (Martin & Weaver, 2005). Hence the Great Depression occurred and political interest grew in the realm of social insurance plans and services. Thus the Great Depression was the catalyst for the creation of the Social Security Act.

The United States Social Security System is often considered a political football, frequently debated on whether the government should continue to manage it or should it be privatized. Either way, in today’s economy, it’s vital to the welfare of many. The main purpose of the system is to provide benefits to America’s workers and their families for retirement, disability, and early death. (Unknown Social Security ProCon) According to the data collected in the 2000 census, “Social Security is the main source of income for men and women 65 and older.” (Hartmann, Lee Highbeam) This finding proves people have become to depend on the government for this benefit, and for a multitude of reasons are not saving enough money to live on once they

Historically, Social Security trust fund has taken in more money in taxes than it has paid out in benefits. However, from last few decades the worker to beneficiary ratio has been dropping. In 1945 there were 42 workers for each beneficiary, in 1980 it had fallen to 3.2 worker to one beneficiary, expert predicts by 2030 there will be only 2 workers will support each beneficiary. The reason for this change is that the beneficiary are living longer, so they are receiving Social Security Benefits for longer periods of time. While on the other hand, population growth is lower, that means fewer babies per family, and less workers force for later. The less workers per beneficiary will

The origin of social security dates back all the way to Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1932, Roosevelt decided that the government needed to provide for people with disabilities, had a death in the family, or just couldn’t physically work anymore. One bill led to another and they established the Social Security Act in 1935. Just following the Great Depression, Roosevelt knew that people needed help financially, and he definitely delivered. He once stated, “Social Security is the principle that we are all in it together, and it reflects basic American Values.” (1934). How the Social Security program works is you have working Americans putting money into the system every paycheck, paying for the people who qualify to receive benefits. On the backside,

Growing up as a kid, not so many young people knew much about Social Security. Some kids might have believed that is was just a nine digit card that their parents kept until they were old enough to take care of it, others knew that it was much more. Social Security is a certain percentage that comes out of your paycheck and into a system. Once it’s in the system the government uses that money that was taken out for people with certain benefits. For example, people with disabilities, foster kids and the one mostly known, retirement. Once retired, in order to receive these benefits, these people must establish that they worked the set amount of years, and also prove that the person is of the qualifying age. Due to the economy taking a big hit back in 2008 the process for obtaining your benefits has become more and more tedious. Due to this struggle, retirees will begin to worry about whether or not they will ever get the benefits they so rightfully earned and also if their rates are going to shift. Because of

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

One in six people in the US benefit from Social Security. That means that approximately 59 million people receive payments every month. Social security is a system in which current workers pay for other people’s benefits, and not their own. Many people pay taxes to fund the program, so those who don't (or can’t) work can live. Because Americans are not good at managing money (Mitchell), many don’t have substantial funding to live off of, so Social Security is necessary. Right now there is an excess of payments that aren't being received, and those excesses all go into a fund. In the upcoming decades that fund will be depleted, and we will run out of money to pay out. Social Security is a sinking ship, and the government

A little over 60 years ago the nation struggled through what was, up to then, the most dramatic crisis since the Civil War. The economy was uprooted after the crash of the stock market and the country's financial stability destroyed. One of the many steps taken to alleviate the burden on the American people was that of the passing of Social Security Act of 1935 and its amendments by Congress and the President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Under the provisions of the Act, the government would take on the responsibility of taxing the income of all working Americans and returning the money through numerous public benefits and programs. Now the nation faces an economic and political problem with the program