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The founders of social security created this program to address the loss of income due to a cessation of work.

Social security was created to provide a number of different types of insured conditions:

disability

death

old-age

unemployment

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“The net result of this complex set of demographic and social changes was that America was older, more urban and more industrial, and fewer of its people lived on the land in extended families. The traditional strategies for the provision of economic security were becoming increasingly fragile” (Social Security Adminisitration).

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Policy Consumers

“Social Security is a social contract across generations” (Blau, p. 312, 2014).

Demographics

How will social security (retirement) be sustained

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4 major demographic changes:

1. The Industrial Revolution

2. The urbanization of America

3. The disapperance of the "extended family"

4. An increase in life expectancy

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Blau, J., & Abramovitz, M. (2014). The dynamics of social welfare policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

National Academy of Social Insurance. (n.d.). Public opinions on social security. Retrieved from https://www.nasi.org/learn/social-security/public-opinions-social-security

Paine, T. (2012). Common sense and other writings. New York: Norton.

Social Security Administration. (n.d.). Historical background and development of social security.  Retrieved from https://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html

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Social security is not enough to live on alone, this is because within the United States we are expected to have retirement savings in place to supplement the cost of living.

The ideology also speaks to the qualification of being old enough to benefit from this government program. This is one form of how we as a country classify the "worthy" and "unworthy.".

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Signed into law in 1935, social security was put in place, in part, to assist in the financial burden of people over the age of 65.

This was in response to the failings of the market after the crash of 1929.

It was also in relation to:
English Poor Laws, Thomas Paine, Civil War Pensions, and what were at the time radical calls to action.

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Social security beneficiaries can be an important part of a political party's base.

Programs like social security cultivate political loyalty.

Politically it also speaks to the climate of the country, as it says that we care for our own (at least to some minimal standard).

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Social security benefits require that the individual has worked for an extended amount of time.

While the move to social security was a progressive step, it was not a generous amount.

First social security check was cut in 1940.

It was about $22 and translates to about $380/month today.

Older and retired workers make more room for younger people coming into the workforce.

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Social Security did not have much in the way of mass mobilization from the public.

A lot of the changes were in fact of elitist origin.

In the case of social security, the primary reason for it came from a need to condense the existing multiple state programs into one federalized bureaucracy.

The Great Depression

Huey Long, Upton Sinclair, Father Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend and more...

Theodore Roosevelt had said:
"We have to have it. The Congress can't stand the pressure of the Townsend Plan unless we have a real old-age insurance system…"