New Deal Accomplishment: 74 million people receiving Social Security benefits in 2025


Above: A Social Security benefits calculator, per the Republican expansion of Social Security in the 1950s (Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate during the 83rd Congress, and President Eisenhower was also, of course, a Republican - see the next-to-last last paragraph of this blog post for more information). Image scanned from a personal copy.

The fantastic but unfinished business of economic security

President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on August 14, 1935, and today, 90 years later, 74 million people are receiving Social Security benefits (see, e.g., here and here). The rural and red (but formerly blue) state of West Virginia relies on Social Security more than any other state (see, e.g., here and here), and over 476,000 of its residents were receiving Social Security benefits in 2023.

In his Second Bill of Rights speech, FDR advocated for the right "to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident..." And his Social Security--formally put together by Frances Perkins, Harry Hopkins, and other New Dealers--moved us significantly in that direction: "Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty in every state, and they lift more people above the poverty line than any other program in the United States. Without Social Security, 22 million more adults and children would be below the poverty line" ("Social Security Lifts More People Above the Poverty Line Than Any Other Program," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 21, 2025).

But there's still a long way to go. For example, half of older Americans who live alone "can't afford basic needs" ("The Urgent Need," Meals on Wheels, accessed August 14, 2025).

Unfortunately, instead of expanding the best poverty mitigation program in U.S. history (for example, by lifting the income contribution cap--currently $176,100--and making wealthy Americans pay more into the system), there have been--for the past half-century--repeated attacks against it, mainly in the form of privatization schemes or attempts to raise the age at which one can collect full benefits (which is disastrous and unjust for lower-income Americans who, on average, live much shorter lives than the rich). 

Attacks on Social Security almost always come from the right (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, here, and here), but this wasn't always the case. In their 1956 party platform, Republicans said: "We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs - expansion of social security... The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further... Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million... We shall continue to seek extension and perfection of a sound social security system."

Let us pray that Social Security survives the current onslaught against it, orchestrated by the 1%, and lives to see the day where it can be expanded by New Deal-style Democrats and 1950s-style Republicans.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Deal Accomplishment: 1,383 new hospitals and treatment facilities

Image
Above: The New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funding for the new and massive "Charity Hospital" in New Orleans, 1938. In total, PWA funded about 822 "hospitals and institutions for medical treatment" (Public Works Administration, America Builds: The Record of PWA , Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 291 ). Photo from the National Archives . Above: Most Americans have forgotten, or have never been taught in the first place, or in some cases don't seem to care, how New Deal hospitals and health workers brought their parents or grandparents into the world, treated their injuries and broken bones, diagnosed their illnesses, provided the necessary facilities to perform life-saving surgeries, etc. The description for the photograph above reads, "Jackson Memorial Hospital, constructed by PWA in Miami, Florida. The picture shows the nursery room of the hospital." Photo from the National Archives . Above: This photo a...
Read more

New Deal Accomplishment: Over 4 million tons of food distributed to millions of Americans in need

Image
Above: Federal surplus commodities being delivered to residents of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, in June 1941.  Photo by Edwin Rosskam, Farm Security Administration, courtesy of the Library of Congress . 4 Million+ Tons of Food The New Deal set up the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation (FSRC) in 1933 to purchase excess farm products (food, livestock, and goods) and then distribute them at no cost to low-income Americans. At the time, farms across the nation were producing too much and driving costs down to the point where many farmers couldn't make a living. Buying excess, and then distributing it to those in need-- people who weren't able to purchase much from the private sector and, in many cases, suffering from malnutrition --solved two problems simultaneously. In 1935, the FSRC was renamed "Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation" (FSCC), and then the FSCC was merged into the "Surplus Market Administration" (SMA) in June 1940. (See the Living New Deal's...
Read more

New Deal Accomplishment: Over 4,400 Murals

Image
Above: A mural created by WPA artist Gustave Dalstrom, between 1935 and 1943, at the Laurel School kindergarten, Wilmette, Illinois. Photo from the National Archives . Above: A WPA mural to boost the spirits of kids convalescing at the Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine, 1936. Photo from the National Archives . Above: A WPA poster, promoting an exhibit of mural studies. Poster created between 1936 and 1937. Image from the Library of Congress . Above:  "Arrival of First Train in Herrington – 1885," a mural study for the post office building in Herrington, Kansas, created by Harry Louis Freund while he was in the New Deal's Section of Painting and Sculpture, ca. 1937. Image from the Smithsonian American Art Museum . 4,400+ Murals The New Deal sought to beautify America, tell its history, and cheer-up, educate, or inspire its people with numerous works of art, for example, murals placed in schools, hospitals, post offices, and other public buildings. Using reports...
Read more