Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1935-02-06

| (OASACaSs anu hON
Security that it is before
congress there Is
a brand new outburst of talk, be.
cause it seems the social seeur-
ers" never can agree among them.
selves. The result Is that leader.
ship in the house and in the SEN
ate is trying vainly to follow ad-
ministration instructions, and has
run afoul of all kinds of difficulties.
The end is not yet, but it is safe
to say without fear of any necessity
for retraction that the social secur-
ity program will not go back to
President Roosevelt as a law in
the form it was presented as an
administration bill.
I find everywhere among those
not charged with responsibility for
the social security legislation that
there is much confusion and lack
Of understanding as to what the
President has proposed. It is easily
understood. ANY time that 1t re-
quires~ thirty thousand words to
explain a piece of legislation OBJ
yiously that legislation must be COM
plex. To comprehend what the
length Of Mr.. Roosevelt's social
security message is, 1t is only nee
essary, I think. to remind readers
that the message with Its explana-
tion would fill approximately thirty
five columns Of an ordinary news
paper. Many persons naturally will
fall asleep before they wade through
that much material.
But, let US attempt to summarize the
social security bill. It provides, first,
for a national system Of compulsory
contributory old age insurance;
second, it authorizes appropriations
to be used as federal subsidies
(plain gifts) to the individual states
to help them pension the aged who
cannot be brought under an insur-
ance system. predicated upon their
service in commerce and industry
dnu L11EuS q NoAuALoAS SJSGN" VI
old age annuities is set up.
The system Of compulsory con-
tributory old age insurance Is de-
signed to protect those who are no
longer able to work, but who have
done their turn on the payrolls Of
industry. An old age fund Is set up
in the treasury Of the United States
Initially the money comes from the
treasury, but thereafter there is
tax operating on payrolls Of all
those who employ workers in num-
bers exceeding four. This tax will
start January 1, 1887. at a rate Of
i per cent. It is increased to 2 per
cent as of January 1, 1912; 8 per
cent as of January /, 1947; 4 per
cent as of January 1, 1852, and s
per cent after January /, 1857. |
The employer pays the tax. but he |
collects half Of it by a deduction
from the payroll of the individual
worker.
The age of sixty-ive years is fixed |
as the time when a worker shall |
retire and receive this pension. The
pensioner can receive as much as
$50 a month. If the individual dies
before retirement. his dependents
receive back the amount paid in In
his behalf.
~As a part Of the old age pension
system the legislation sets up an
Did age fund In which workers may
purchaser an annuity, but they
never may acquire more than a to.
al of $1,000 maturity value-the nj.
innate ,amount-from which their
ncome may be increased.
Then there is the much discussed
unemployment insurance. This also
s predicated upon tax on indus
rial payrolls, but it Is a state
That is, the federal
is attempting to encour-
lge individual states to enact legis-
alton which will protect the work
n in periods such as that through
which we have passed since 1929.
n other words, this phase of the
egislation is designed to cause
workers and their employers to lay
side a certain percentage of their
ncome while they are employed
o be used when times are hard.
There are countless subdivisions
n the bill, none of which are sim
lie, that seek to protect the many
Who for one reason or another do
lot qualify under the general terms
f the legislation. For instance,
i'd to dependent children is pro-
ided. Federal health subsidies
kind of health insurance-is pro-
osed. Maternity aid is arranged,
nd extraordinary cases are COW
red, such as aid to crippled chill.
ren,,, There are other subdivisions
much too intricate to analyze here
or the reason that their applica-
lon is decidedly limited. The draft
RS of the legislation sought to, cover
II. Whether they have done so can
e determined only after the legis-
alton has been In operation some
ears.
have been unable to compute the
ost Of this legislation to- the fed
era1 and state !
Counting governments and |