The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-19
Administration Bill Pro-
vides Hunger Dole
to A ged
(Dally worker washington Bureau)

WAo111NG4OIN, II. u, Jan. 10
Following the reading of President
RooseVelt'S widely ballyhooed $50
cial security message to Congress
today, Senator Robert F. Wagner
Of New York introduced in the
Senate the big business Roosevelt
Administration self-styled Economic
Security Bill.
Representative David J. Lewis, of
Maryland, the co-author with Wag-
ner of last years Wagner-Lewis
bill, introduced the same legislative
denial of genuine unemployment
insurance in the House of Repre-
sentatives.
The administrations so called
Economic Security Bill is based
upon the special $4,000 word report
made to the President by his com
mittee on Economic security.
Ignores Present Jobless
This bill completely ignores the
100000 now unemployed, provides
for no security for the future I'M
employed, and proposes meagre old
age pensions. Even if enacted to-
day, the Wagner bill wouldn't be-
come effective until Jan. /, 1886 at
the earliest.
illustrating what he meant by his
declaration that his bill provides
federal encouragement to. the es-
tablishment of State compulsory I'M
employment insurance syste M"
Wagner did not hide the fact that
the bill, like the National Industrial
Recovery Act, is fundamentally a big
employer measure. There is not a
single dictate of business Judgment
that has been neglected in framing
this legislation" Wagner declared
In the formal statement released
simultaneously with the introduction
OF his Administration bill. These
proposals. he pointed out. ARE
built upon the Gibraltar of business
common sense. Unemployment is
cheaper than relief because pre-
paredness is superior to planeIess-
ness" The new bill generally follows
last years Wagner-Lewis reserves"
measure and involves the Federal
government only to the extent of
contributing sums for what Roose-
velt himself described, a couple of
months, as overhead expenses.
AS an added incentive" said
Wagner, "a federal subsidy, ag-
gregating 100000 for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1896, and
S50,O00,000 for each succeeding year,
is provided for ALLEGATION among
the states to aid them in admin
istrating such unemployment insur-
ance laws as they may enact"
What funds the employers in the
various states may see fit to pay,
under the Wagner Bill, are to be
paid to the U. S. Treasury which
will control a trust fund to be
known as the unemployment trust
fund" The bill also establishes a
Social Insurance Board" of three
members. Each one would get
$4,000 year. This administrative
body will be under the Jurisdiction
of the anti-strike Department of
Labor. Thus, the provision which
nominally guarantees "compensa-
ton" to otherwise eligible employ
ees" who refuse ito accept new
work" while engaged in a strike,
lockout, or other labor dispute"
isn't worth the paper it is writ
ten on.
Wagner's bill proposes a three per
cent federal tax upon payrolls
which will be RENTED to employ
ers insofar as they contribute to
unemployment insurance funds I'M
der State law" This tax, however,
is not definite because of the OBJ
struction it may become to the en-
joyment of even increased corpora
ton profits under the New Deal.
I'm order not to burden industry
during its battle for complete re-
covery," announced Wagner, "the
unemployment insurance tax of
three per cent will not become fully
operative during the next two years
unless the index of productive &C
tivity reaches 95 per cent of the
1928 1925 level"
(COntinued on Pace q