Before the 1930 's, when a person retired they faced the prospect of poverty and as they became older, support became a matter for the family (Social Security Act (1935), Document Info). After the 1929 stock market crash, America found itself in the midst of an economical depression with high unemployment rates and many failing banks; many Americans were barely able to provide for themselves and were unsure about what the future held for them. President Roosevelt, elected to office in 1932, had a vision for the future of America which included national healthcare, old-age pensions, and unemployment compensation; it would be a national insurance system to protect Americans against misfortunes which cannot be eliminated (Koojiman, 1999, p.
…show more content…
Those eligible to receive relief were typically only those who fulfilled societal norms (widowed women and their dependent children), as "their poverty was seen as occurring through no fault of their own" (Rose, 1989, p. 66). Those who were unemployed, immigrants, African American, and women who did not conform to standards, were required to enter a workhouse. As the Great Depression hit and local government relief funds ran out, the public demanded increased relief. With unemployment rates at 25 percent, the Committee on Economic Securities (CES), the committee commissioned to draft the national security bill, recommended the creation of a federal relief program that would consitute both unemployement securities and employment assurances. According to historian Nancy Rose (1989), the first draft of the bill included a proposal for a government work program that would have provided public jobs for the unemployed, but was "perceived as interfering with labor markets and the basic rationality of capitalist production-for-profit" (p. 63) Without much explanation, Roosevelt backed out of an employment assurance policy, arguing that "all the power shouldn 't be in the hands of the federal government. ...We 've got to leave all we can to the states" (Kennedy, 2010). Many argue that the employment assurance policy was dropped because of the financial burden it …show more content…
According to historian David M. Kennedy (2010), "there were three complicated and interconnected considerations for the bill: how to fund the pensions, when the payments should begin, and who should be covered." Many wanted to follow the models of other countries that had a similar system already in place: by financing the old-age pensions out of the federal revenue. Roosevelt refused to dole money out of the treasury, instead declared the burden would fall on employers and
Those eligible to receive relief were typically only those who fulfilled societal norms (widowed women and their dependent children), as "their poverty was seen as occurring through no fault of their own" (Rose, 1989, p. 66). Those who were unemployed, immigrants, African American, and women who did not conform to standards, were required to enter a workhouse. As the Great Depression hit and local government relief funds ran out, the public demanded increased relief. With unemployment rates at 25 percent, the Committee on Economic Securities (CES), the committee commissioned to draft the national security bill, recommended the creation of a federal relief program that would consitute both unemployement securities and employment assurances. According to historian Nancy Rose (1989), the first draft of the bill included a proposal for a government work program that would have provided public jobs for the unemployed, but was "perceived as interfering with labor markets and the basic rationality of capitalist production-for-profit" (p. 63) Without much explanation, Roosevelt backed out of an employment assurance policy, arguing that "all the power shouldn 't be in the hands of the federal government. ...We 've got to leave all we can to the states" (Kennedy, 2010). Many argue that the employment assurance policy was dropped because of the financial burden it …show more content…
According to historian David M. Kennedy (2010), "there were three complicated and interconnected considerations for the bill: how to fund the pensions, when the payments should begin, and who should be covered." Many wanted to follow the models of other countries that had a similar system already in place: by financing the old-age pensions out of the federal revenue. Roosevelt refused to dole money out of the treasury, instead declared the burden would fall on employers and