Since it seems clear we will be deciding whether we want to preserve the Social Security Act by our choice of leaders in the next few elections, I thought it not unreasonable to reprint this piece from last year about why people in the 1930s thought the measure was imperative. There is more news about the classified material at Mar-a-Lago, but nothing that can’t wait another day so I can catch this anniversary.
Thank you, Heather, for this beautiful piece on Frances Perkins and the history of Social Security. I do agree that any political party that tries to destroy Social Security by calling it an "entitlement" will bring the wrath of the majority of the citizens down upon them. When like myself one has paid into Social Security for decades, many years at the maximum, I consider the check I get every month now in my seventies as a return on my investment. It is like having insurance for retirement. This doesn't just affect the older citizens, the younger generations will have to take care of their parents. It is a message that the Democrats and Independents should shout to the rooftop of the Capitol Dome. We, the People, all of us this time!
I am sitting in a home right down the road from Frances’ grandmother’s home in Maine. There is construction happening on the site and it will soon be the home of the Perkins Center right here on the Damariscotta River. It is wonderful to see this important American honored.
Thank goodness for Frances Perkins and her brilliant vision!
“Through her Tammany connections, Perkins met FDR, and when he asked her to be his Secretary of Labor, she told him that she wanted the federal government to provide unemployment insurance, health insurance, and old-age insurance. She later recalled: ‘I remember he looked so startled, and he said, ‘Well, do you think it can be done?’”
What a visionary -- what a woman! It’s an amazing story and well worth remembering her at this anniversary!
How many voters have any inkling that Social Security is on the line? Not to mention Medicare and Medicaid. Maybe I've missed the GOP articulating a logical rationale for eliminating programs that are not only extremely popular but critical to the lives of tens of millions of Americans. Of course there isn't one.
As affected as I was by Frances Perkin’s story, it was the concluding text that dealt a smarting gut punch. Perkins stated, and I quote, “Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system….It is safe forever,…”.
Surely a returned Perkins, surveying the American experiment nearing its third century, would be horrified by the extent to which our democracy, much less what’s left of our social safety net, is in danger of being paralyzed and pulverized. If truth be told, at least from my perspective, we have but one election to defend against a fatal weakening of democracy in the U.S.
I, along with a host of others, fear the false grievances that the 2020 election was stolen could lay the groundwork for Republicans to retake one, possibly both, U.S. Chambers in November. Were that to happen, Republicans would have captured, at every turn, the dynamic of the political conversation in the country, leaving but a small window to protect the key mechanisms of American democracy. Further down the road, Republicans plausibly could retain control of Congress and win the White House, conceivably precipitating both a fatal weakening of American civic institutions and also a Presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjected to an individual.
Note I haven’t even mentioned Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
Lest anyone think I’m a fatalist, I would note that I start each day fortified by text penned by U.S. Supreme Court Louis Brandeis, who once wrote, “Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” I simply would add, in my experience, that only in retrospect is the true value of persistence in the face of difficulty revealed.
Thank you for sharing about Ms. Perkins, again, HCR. If you want a fascinating read, her biography is worth the time. She should have gotten a Medal of Honor at least... sadly denigrated by some (including my own father) as the mother of the welfare-state, she is a TRAGICALLY unknown figure in my mind. Conceptually framing the skeleton of the SS program and reeling-it-in with the support it got at the time was probably no small-feat, despite the vote-counts, but you can bet your toenails nothing like that would stand a chance with the Republican party as it is currently-entrenched.
It is profoundly-sad that the right-wing has created a new concept that they dubbed, in the 80's, the, "welfare-state." And that they tied it to social security. It (SS) was probably the best idea since the prior Roosevelt took on the Trusts and improved labor-conditions a generation before. Sadder still is the fact the SOMEHOW Congress thought that the idea of, "borrowing," against the pot of money known as the SS Trust Fund was a good idea... Those IOU's have never been paid-back and regardless of where the money was spent (and I'm sure both sides of the aisle are as guilty as the other) the fact is that it has been hollowed-out now and is, for all intents and purposes, bankrupt.
Should we balance the budget: of course. Should we decrease the National Debt: heck ya. Should we reduce waste and what-not: sure. But I think a commitment needs to be made (and I have not heard a single President ever make it a priority) to reinvigorate and pay-back this Fund. It is paid into by all of us who get a W2 and it is a fundamental fiduciary responsibility of the Fed to not only take in that money from us, but to carefully manage it, secure it, and pay it back out to us. And now "they" can't. It's fraud. It's theft. It's a violation of the fundamental duty of the Federal Government to keep OUR money safe and correspondingly available when needed.
I don't hear ANY politicians, of either stripe or spot, speaking to this issue. I realize that it is not a very sexy campaign slogan, but to continue to ignore this problem is to give tacit approval to the continuing theft of OUR MONEY, from all of us. Congress 'owes' the Trust Fund about 3T dollars, I think. And the fund is not sustainable and will be out of dough in about 10 years. I think any President or person running for Congress should have a plan to pay that back...
I’m sooooo glad you gave Frances Perkins her proper space. Everyone should read, “The Woman Behind New Deal” by Kirstin Downey. Perkins was an extraordinary woman.
Thank you, Professor, for reminding us that government can work together to help its citizens. We are all recipients of the decisions and policies, social safety nets, created in the darkest times of depression.
“By the time the bill came to a vote in Congress, it was hugely popular. The vote was 371 to 33 in the House and 77 to 6 in the Senate.” Imagine today, voting for people and not party. It’s possible.
We need another Francis Perkins! We need someone with passion and persistence, and an ability to convince politicians that policies/programs/legislation that make a difference in ordinary people's lives makes the politicians popular too.
“The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.”
This quote from Francis Perkins should be carved into marble above the main entrance to the Capitol so every Congressperson is reminded daily of the job they were elected to do!
Hello Heather. My first comment after reading you religiously for several years. I am a retired railroader on Railroad Retirement. That law was passed ahead of SSA. What has you research shown what if any head wind Congress had for SSA thanks to earlier passage of RRA? I wrote an article several month ago for our retiree magazine. Not being a historian, did my best to capture what I could research from the Net on history of RRA.
Social security is the reason I have an income in retirement. After a divorce at 65 and unexpected financial losses in 2008, I awake each day, grateful that this system exists. I paid into Social Security from the time I first worked at eighteen until I retired from public service in New York at sixty. I have enough to live an independent and simple life. Thank you, Heather, for telling us about the great, courageous and forward-thinking Frances Perkins. I will now always think of her as the Guardian Angel for everyone who works for a living.
I look forward every day to read you "Letters." However, I am writing about the WEP which stands for Windfall Elimination Provision which means that certain categories of Federal Employees cannot get both an Annuity and full Social Security. This was put into effect during the Reagan Administration. I had worked 22 years under Social Security prior to joining the Federal Workforce. On my last day of employment, I was receiving my full Social Security - On the day after, my Social Security was chopped in half. It is now up for repeal. I will try and paste more info here. Dr. Linda Force
HOUSE VOTE POSSIBLE ON REPEAL OF WEP/GPO
On July 15, the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, a bill that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), surpassed 290 cosponsors, receiving enough support to place the bill on the House Consensus Calendar, teeing it up for a possible floor vote in September. The legislation has bipartisan support, with 206 Democratic and 87 Republican cosponsors. Thank you to every National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) member who contacted their Representative in support of this legislation.
Based on a House rule, legislation that receives 290 or more cosponsors can be placed on the House Consensus Calendar for an eventual vote. However, the legislation must remain on the calendar for 25 legislative days, or days the House is in session, while maintaining 290 or more cosponsors. Furthermore, the bill must not be marked up by its committee of jurisdiction, in this case the Committee on Ways and Means, or else the bill will be taken off the Consensus Calendar.
On, July 15, the same day H.R. 82 surpassed 290 cosponsors, its sponsor, Rep. Rodney Davis, R-IL, presented the House Office of the Clerk with the necessary cosponsors and placed the bill on the Consensus Calendar, beginning the 25-day countdown. This means a vote on H.R. 82 could occur roughly in late September; the House is not in session for the month of August.
Gathering more than 290 cosponsors and teeing up H.R. 82 for a vote is a significant achievement that required coordination between NARFE’s grassroots advocacy and lobbying efforts. NARFE advocates responded to NARFE’s calls for action, asking their lawmakers to support H.R. 82, while NARFE’s lobbyists worked strategically to build further support. Now, NARFE must work to maintain the necessary 290 cosponsors and build further support where able during the 25- day waiting period. NARFE will also monitor other legislative efforts and potential rule changes that could affect the vote on H.R. 82.
I love this story. It brings tears to my eyes. We need the spirit of this fine public servant in the times we are negotiating now.
Thank you, Heather, for this beautiful piece on Frances Perkins and the history of Social Security. I do agree that any political party that tries to destroy Social Security by calling it an "entitlement" will bring the wrath of the majority of the citizens down upon them. When like myself one has paid into Social Security for decades, many years at the maximum, I consider the check I get every month now in my seventies as a return on my investment. It is like having insurance for retirement. This doesn't just affect the older citizens, the younger generations will have to take care of their parents. It is a message that the Democrats and Independents should shout to the rooftop of the Capitol Dome. We, the People, all of us this time!
I am sitting in a home right down the road from Frances’ grandmother’s home in Maine. There is construction happening on the site and it will soon be the home of the Perkins Center right here on the Damariscotta River. It is wonderful to see this important American honored.
Thank goodness for Frances Perkins and her brilliant vision!
“Through her Tammany connections, Perkins met FDR, and when he asked her to be his Secretary of Labor, she told him that she wanted the federal government to provide unemployment insurance, health insurance, and old-age insurance. She later recalled: ‘I remember he looked so startled, and he said, ‘Well, do you think it can be done?’”
What a visionary -- what a woman! It’s an amazing story and well worth remembering her at this anniversary!
How many voters have any inkling that Social Security is on the line? Not to mention Medicare and Medicaid. Maybe I've missed the GOP articulating a logical rationale for eliminating programs that are not only extremely popular but critical to the lives of tens of millions of Americans. Of course there isn't one.
As affected as I was by Frances Perkin’s story, it was the concluding text that dealt a smarting gut punch. Perkins stated, and I quote, “Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political party, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system….It is safe forever,…”.
Surely a returned Perkins, surveying the American experiment nearing its third century, would be horrified by the extent to which our democracy, much less what’s left of our social safety net, is in danger of being paralyzed and pulverized. If truth be told, at least from my perspective, we have but one election to defend against a fatal weakening of democracy in the U.S.
I, along with a host of others, fear the false grievances that the 2020 election was stolen could lay the groundwork for Republicans to retake one, possibly both, U.S. Chambers in November. Were that to happen, Republicans would have captured, at every turn, the dynamic of the political conversation in the country, leaving but a small window to protect the key mechanisms of American democracy. Further down the road, Republicans plausibly could retain control of Congress and win the White House, conceivably precipitating both a fatal weakening of American civic institutions and also a Presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjected to an individual.
Note I haven’t even mentioned Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
Lest anyone think I’m a fatalist, I would note that I start each day fortified by text penned by U.S. Supreme Court Louis Brandeis, who once wrote, “Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” I simply would add, in my experience, that only in retrospect is the true value of persistence in the face of difficulty revealed.
Thank you for sharing about Ms. Perkins, again, HCR. If you want a fascinating read, her biography is worth the time. She should have gotten a Medal of Honor at least... sadly denigrated by some (including my own father) as the mother of the welfare-state, she is a TRAGICALLY unknown figure in my mind. Conceptually framing the skeleton of the SS program and reeling-it-in with the support it got at the time was probably no small-feat, despite the vote-counts, but you can bet your toenails nothing like that would stand a chance with the Republican party as it is currently-entrenched.
It is profoundly-sad that the right-wing has created a new concept that they dubbed, in the 80's, the, "welfare-state." And that they tied it to social security. It (SS) was probably the best idea since the prior Roosevelt took on the Trusts and improved labor-conditions a generation before. Sadder still is the fact the SOMEHOW Congress thought that the idea of, "borrowing," against the pot of money known as the SS Trust Fund was a good idea... Those IOU's have never been paid-back and regardless of where the money was spent (and I'm sure both sides of the aisle are as guilty as the other) the fact is that it has been hollowed-out now and is, for all intents and purposes, bankrupt.
Should we balance the budget: of course. Should we decrease the National Debt: heck ya. Should we reduce waste and what-not: sure. But I think a commitment needs to be made (and I have not heard a single President ever make it a priority) to reinvigorate and pay-back this Fund. It is paid into by all of us who get a W2 and it is a fundamental fiduciary responsibility of the Fed to not only take in that money from us, but to carefully manage it, secure it, and pay it back out to us. And now "they" can't. It's fraud. It's theft. It's a violation of the fundamental duty of the Federal Government to keep OUR money safe and correspondingly available when needed.
I don't hear ANY politicians, of either stripe or spot, speaking to this issue. I realize that it is not a very sexy campaign slogan, but to continue to ignore this problem is to give tacit approval to the continuing theft of OUR MONEY, from all of us. Congress 'owes' the Trust Fund about 3T dollars, I think. And the fund is not sustainable and will be out of dough in about 10 years. I think any President or person running for Congress should have a plan to pay that back...
<exits soapbox> (but remains angry)
This should be taught in every school and the name Frances Perkins should be known.
I’m sooooo glad you gave Frances Perkins her proper space. Everyone should read, “The Woman Behind New Deal” by Kirstin Downey. Perkins was an extraordinary woman.
Thank you, Professor, for reminding us that government can work together to help its citizens. We are all recipients of the decisions and policies, social safety nets, created in the darkest times of depression.
“By the time the bill came to a vote in Congress, it was hugely popular. The vote was 371 to 33 in the House and 77 to 6 in the Senate.” Imagine today, voting for people and not party. It’s possible.
We need another Francis Perkins! We need someone with passion and persistence, and an ability to convince politicians that policies/programs/legislation that make a difference in ordinary people's lives makes the politicians popular too.
“The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.”
This quote from Francis Perkins should be carved into marble above the main entrance to the Capitol so every Congressperson is reminded daily of the job they were elected to do!
The decision is clear. Spread the word.
Hello Heather. My first comment after reading you religiously for several years. I am a retired railroader on Railroad Retirement. That law was passed ahead of SSA. What has you research shown what if any head wind Congress had for SSA thanks to earlier passage of RRA? I wrote an article several month ago for our retiree magazine. Not being a historian, did my best to capture what I could research from the Net on history of RRA.
Thanks for all you do to inform you loyal readers
Fred Leif. Brunswick GA
Social security is the reason I have an income in retirement. After a divorce at 65 and unexpected financial losses in 2008, I awake each day, grateful that this system exists. I paid into Social Security from the time I first worked at eighteen until I retired from public service in New York at sixty. I have enough to live an independent and simple life. Thank you, Heather, for telling us about the great, courageous and forward-thinking Frances Perkins. I will now always think of her as the Guardian Angel for everyone who works for a living.
I look forward every day to read you "Letters." However, I am writing about the WEP which stands for Windfall Elimination Provision which means that certain categories of Federal Employees cannot get both an Annuity and full Social Security. This was put into effect during the Reagan Administration. I had worked 22 years under Social Security prior to joining the Federal Workforce. On my last day of employment, I was receiving my full Social Security - On the day after, my Social Security was chopped in half. It is now up for repeal. I will try and paste more info here. Dr. Linda Force
HOUSE VOTE POSSIBLE ON REPEAL OF WEP/GPO
On July 15, the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, a bill that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), surpassed 290 cosponsors, receiving enough support to place the bill on the House Consensus Calendar, teeing it up for a possible floor vote in September. The legislation has bipartisan support, with 206 Democratic and 87 Republican cosponsors. Thank you to every National Active & Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) member who contacted their Representative in support of this legislation.
Based on a House rule, legislation that receives 290 or more cosponsors can be placed on the House Consensus Calendar for an eventual vote. However, the legislation must remain on the calendar for 25 legislative days, or days the House is in session, while maintaining 290 or more cosponsors. Furthermore, the bill must not be marked up by its committee of jurisdiction, in this case the Committee on Ways and Means, or else the bill will be taken off the Consensus Calendar.
On, July 15, the same day H.R. 82 surpassed 290 cosponsors, its sponsor, Rep. Rodney Davis, R-IL, presented the House Office of the Clerk with the necessary cosponsors and placed the bill on the Consensus Calendar, beginning the 25-day countdown. This means a vote on H.R. 82 could occur roughly in late September; the House is not in session for the month of August.
Gathering more than 290 cosponsors and teeing up H.R. 82 for a vote is a significant achievement that required coordination between NARFE’s grassroots advocacy and lobbying efforts. NARFE advocates responded to NARFE’s calls for action, asking their lawmakers to support H.R. 82, while NARFE’s lobbyists worked strategically to build further support. Now, NARFE must work to maintain the necessary 290 cosponsors and build further support where able during the 25- day waiting period. NARFE will also monitor other legislative efforts and potential rule changes that could affect the vote on H.R. 82.