Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
1936 › Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) › Old-age pensions and social insurance
Build on the Social Security Act toward economic security for all
pledge_forwarddirectional_stancecandidate_directevidence A Relief, Welfare & Social Insurance⚡ The "Second New Deal" (1935)⚡ Townsend old-age pension movement similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Keep and extend the 1935 Act: old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, aid to the crippled, blind and mothers, with benefits rising as national capacity grows.
Rationale
Government in a modern civilization has 'inescapable obligations' to protect the family and home; the Act is a foundation, not a finished structure.
Statements (3)
On the foundation of the Social Security Act we are determined to erect a structure of economic security for all our people, making sure that this benefit shall keep step with the ever-increasing capacity of America to provide a high standard of living for all its citizens.
The brave and clear platform adopted by this Convention, to which I heartily subscribe, sets forth that Government in a modern civilization has certain inescapable obligations to its citizens, among which are protection of the family and the home, the establishment of a democracy of opportunity, and aid to those overtaken by disaster.
Of course we will continue our help for the crippled, for the blind, for the mothers, our insurance for the unemployed, our security for the aged.
Follow-through
kept
The Social Security Act was defended in court (Helvering v. Davis, May 1937), amended technically in 1938, and rebuilt by the 1939 amendments: old-age insurance became old-age and survivors' insurance with dependents' and widows' benefits, larger early benefits, and payments beginning January 1940 instead of 1942.
Mechanisms
| Date | Type | Name | Effect | Consistent? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937-12-14 | message | Letter recommending amendments to the Social Security Act | Technical amendments (death claims paid directly to dependents, earlier unemployment payments). | yes | Letter Recommending Legislation Amending the Social Security Act |
| 1939-01-16 | message | Transmittal of the Social Security Board report | Reported 42.5 million insured accounts and recommended the 1939 expansion.A Federal old age insurance system, the largest undertaking of its kind ever attempted, has been organized and under it there have been set up individual accounts covering 42,500,000 persons | yes | Transmittal to Congress of a Report of the Social Security Board. |
| 1939-08-10 | statute | Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 | Survivors' and dependents' benefits; benefits from 1940; trust fund.the federal old age insurance system which has now been converted into a system of old age and survivors' insurance providing life-time family security instead of only individual old age security | yes | Statement on Signing to the Social Security Act. |
Assessments
The President described the amendments as 'another tremendous step forward in providing greater security.'
These amendments to the Act represent another tremendous step forward in providing greater security for the people of this country.
Other positions on this issue
- Old-age insurance under state laws — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 directional_stance
- Old-age pensions for men and women sixty and over — Norman Thomas, 1932 specific_pledge
- The Townsend $200-a-month pension as a plank of the Union coalition — William Lemke, 1936 vague_gesture
1936-fdr-erect-structure-of-economic-security · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed