Dbq Social Security Act

The Social Security Act was passed on August 14, 1935. The main issue that this act was intended to solve was for elderly people and for those who were either injured on the job site or just were having a hard time finding a job. The overall vote in the House of Representatives for this act was 96% of the Democrats and 81% of the Republicans. The raw number of votes from the House of Representatives titled as Democrats were 284 yes and 15 no, and the Republicans contributed 81 yes and 15 no. When it came to the senators, the Democrats were 98% for the Social Security Act and the Republicans were 75% for it. The raw number of votes from the Senators that were Democratic were 60 for it and 1 against. The Republican Senators voted 16 yes and 5

Furthermore, this act was very beneficial to the elderly people because, it ensured them an income when they otherwise would have been out of luck. On average in 1935 people who received Social Security benefits go $19.74 per month and a minimum waged worker would get $40 a month without overtime. Saying this, the average Social Security benefit receiver would not get enough to live off of so it would be considered a supplement to an income. Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated this act in hopes that it would partially help the people during and after the Great depression time period (1929-1939). During this time roughly 50% of the elderly population lived in poverty. The majority of the public was relieved when they were informed of the Social Security Act. There were many people without jobs during this time period due to the Great Depression. Therefore, the federal government used taxes to administer money to the states for the people who were unemployed, injured or over the age of 65 to compensate for their financial incompetence. This is why the act was so tremendously helpful for the people that lived during this time

However, there are some people today that abuse this financial aid to reap the benefits by injuring themselves which is unlikely but possible and by exceeding their stay on the free ride when they are healed up and ready to go back to work. Originally there was 37 million dollars distributed to the recipients of social security and now there is about 15 billion (ssa.gov). The government determines the amount of Social Security benefits a person receives based on lifetime earnings for their retirement. Disability benefits are based on average monthly income. Saying that, I do think that social security (governmental aid) is rightfully beneficial to the people who need it, but the way in which people are evaluated to receive money from the government should be more strict. In my opinion I would have each person evaluated more closely according to their doctor's examination. Furthermore, some people who are unemployed and are “having trouble finding a job” should be more closely evaluated to make sure they are making a conscious effort in finding and keeping a