The New Deal
Social Security Act is the first welfare law planned to ensure security of old age, unemployment, disability and poor people in America. The act resulted after second deal in 1935. The Social Security was a continuous process which started after 1932 under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s rule, throughout 1933-1939. The thesis of this essay is anchored in providing the historical background of the social security act, and how subsequent amendments manifested in shaping up this social scheme.
Before the acknowledgement of the new Bill into the American Social institutions, some benchmark processes had begun in earnest, and prepared the way in which this new Bill would be introduced. Old Age Revolving Pensions scheme was a pioneer organization that introduced more than five million Americans to a pension scheme. This scheme was pioneered by Francis Townsend, who later petitioned Roosevelt’s administration to adopt its findings on the pension scheme. Some of the stipulations that Townsend’s proposal entailed allocating a monthly pension of $200 to every American having attained 60 years of age, and that the past life of the old should be delineated from criminalization, among other social amendments. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt got elected, he addressed the problems related to American depression. People were facing problems of poverty and unemployment during President Hoover’s rule in 1931. Besides, there were groups of government people working for unemployment relief through literary digest advertisements. President’s organization was built in order to aid work for relief agencies and local welfares. Different leaders contributed in setting policies and programs for social security. One such leader was senator Huey Long, governor of Louisiana proposed a plan to restore and strengthen economic situation of the country. The plan was based upon different principles. This plan stipulated that all the American wealth will be shared with every deserving family in order to reduce the debt load. Similarly, a balance in sharing wealth was established to share profits of lands and fortunes with American people.
In 1935, “Economic Security Act” was sent to Congress in which a National Association for the Advancements of Colored People (NAACP) was present. They were standing for the rights of people from various ethnicities. The bill was based upon a request for annuity to pay taxes. The annuity was exempted for Negro share croppers and cash tenants. NAACP requested for the annuity because Negros were not given any proper jobs or facilities which would help them supplement taxes. The statement also excluded domestic servants from the act as they also belonged to a lousy employment services.
In a speech regarding social security act and the new deal, President Roosevelt spoke about different actions taken by the government towards the security of Americans’ lives. There were laws which provided measures for average person’s protection in order to get rid of old age poverty issues. The law was proposed to reduce future depressions.
People benefitting from the program
The New Deal was proposed to bring all necessary components of human life for several small groups of ignored people. It was based on annuities regarding dependent people, the jobless groups, the Negros living in America and old age people.
The deal was not properly and fully planned upon a single philosophy, but towards several approaches. His suggestions entailed opening all nations’ banks in order to execute maximum number of social security act measures. He convinced people that the security of their money was in banks and not at their homes. In order to ensure the functionality of banks, Roosevelt presented Glass-Steagall Act in order to lay boundaries between commercial and investment banks. The policy to pay insurance for each bank deposits was also introduced in order to improve public confidence on the banking system.
There were also suggestions to improve competitions between different agricultural systems, as most farmers were seriously hit by the depression. Roosevelt ordered to work on a new farming bill based upon the excessive crops production by the farmers on very low price. He presented Agricultural Adjustment Act regarding the issue of farming. He initiated this by increasing the price rates of crop production; $100 million for twenty five percent of their crops. In fact, the Social Security Act was subject to eligibility test, and the prospective citizens had to be American Citizens who have worked for the conventional timeframe stipulated by law.
During 1933, the government even turned towards the farming system and introduced National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). The act resolved antitrust laws and helped business, government, and labor group to arrange voluntary rules of each industry. It introduced new industries and revived few diminished ones as well. Different industrial groups of companies and people opposed the laws enacted by the NIRA and it apparently became obvious that the act was failing.
Roosevelt’s advisory team strongly believed that the falling income and other reasons behind depression were low prices. The President asked the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) to increase the loan rates of payments and interest rates. It disabled the job owners to keep their properties whenever they faced unemployment.
Views of Americans about Roosevelt’s policies
The social security bill was passed to bring ease for jobless, old and dependent citizens of society. Although it aimed at providing solutions to facilitate the lives of common man, it is also imposing heavy burdens on general taxpayers and the industry. Indeed, this bill required heavy funds provision and suggested the importance of its distribution into multiple bills instead of only one. There were several bills, constitutional changes and acts included in the policies of the New Deal which received different kinds of responses from people.
Conclusion
The New Deal provided solutions mostly related to Old-Age Assistance and Unemployment Insurance programs. It revolved around some basic issues: the finances of any program and the role of reserving funds. The Security Act required a huge amount of financial investments in order to facilitate old people with their pension issues, helping the jobless people in getting settled. The President proposed to finance the expenses through payroll tax implemented upon regular and irregular employees both. The New deal faced different setbacks. President Roosevelt imposed a new program and a second deal following the first deal in order to add suitable liberal justice. The New deal faced strong negative and positive feedback and ended through the World War II.
Bibliography
“A Monthly Check to You!” Social Security Board, 1936.
Long, Huey. “Carry Out the Command of the Lord.” Congressional Record. February 5, 1934.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Presidential Statement signing the Social Security Act.” August 14, 1935.
Statement of Charles H. Houston. Economic Security Act: Ways and Means Committee on the Economic Security bill, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1935. 796.
The Loss Angeles Times Editiorial. statement about the flaws in the Social Security Act On August 16, 1935,
Townsend, Francis E. “The Plan in Brief.” Townsend Plan. Long Beach, CA: Old Age Revolving Pensions, Inc., 1934. 2.
