It was 73 years ago today that Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the bill creating Social Security, the American public pension system for senior citizens. On the day FDR signed the bill, nearly half of elderly Americans lived in poverty. There was simply no provision at all for many people. Their only recourse was to rely on their children. Every year since, Social Security has paid for itself and saved millions of elderly people from destitution. It was the first such large-scale program in the world. We (Yanks) beat you (Brits) by 11 years if I'm not mistaken.
It was opposed by an assortment of right-wing cranks who issued the usual warnings about socialism, although the vote tally against it (33 in the House, six in the Senate) turned out to be small.
The opposition shriveled even further as the program's obvious success and popularity became irrefutable. Here was Dwight Eisenhower, in 1954:
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
They're still stupid, but alas their number is no longer negligible. They run the country. If John McCain wins, they will still run the country, by and large. Do you think McCain changed his position on offshore drilling because of gas prices? Think again. He changed to rake in oil money.
And McCain thinks Social Security's financing system is a "disgrace." The disgrace would be giving these people another chance to dismantle history's most successful government program.
