Photograph Source: US Government – Public Domain
Ida May Fuller received Social Security check #00-000-001 on January 31, 1940. The dependability of the program has never faltered since the Social Security Act was enacted 90 years ago on August 14, 1935. Today, we celebrate one of the most effective, efficient and cherished programs in American history.
Social Security has endured because along the way it was upheld and improved when necessary. Today, and for much of its 90 years, it is targeted as broken or in need of privatization by those who would like to end this insurance program. Neither are true.
The fixes to assure the future viability of Social Security are fairly simple and the notion that this most efficient program can be privatized with a profit structure at a lower cost than what it currently costs the government to run is laughable.
Social Security is a gem in American economic policy. Let’s strengthen it and make it more generous — after all, it is retired workers who have lived with ever increasing inequality as their labor has generated vast profits for corporations and the wealthy. They deserve a stable retirement.
This first appeared on CEPR.
The post Social Security: The Gem of American Economic Policy appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Sylvia Allegretto.