Evening star., 1935-01-06
|HALbERT OFFERS
| SOCIAL SECURITY
| PLANFORD|STR|CT
All Forms of Insurance Pre-.
posed in S23,0O0,0OO.
a-Year Scheme.
FINANCING INCLUDES
| PAY ROLL ASSESSMENT
Worker, Employer and City Gov.
eminent Would Bear Equal
Shares of Cost.

An all-inclusive program Of social
security legislation for the District,
calculated to cost nearly 100000 a
year, is suggested by Leroy A. Halbert,
director of research of the Board of
Public Welfare, in a statement re-
leased yesterday by Elwood Street,
welfare director.
Such program would be for every
resident here suffering misfortune in
capacitating him for work and would
be financed out of equal assessments
of per cent of each workers pay
against the employe, the employer and
the District government.
Halbert proposes that the program
be comprehensive and include in one
plan unemployment insurance, sick
ness insurance. old-age pensions, pen
sions for the blind as well as mothers
pensions and all other proposed forms
of social security legislation.
Allen to Study Proposal.
The matter will be studied by Com
missioner George E. Allen, District re-
lief administrator, as we'll as by Of
ficials of the Board of Public Welfare
Some recommendations as to unem-
ployment, sickness and other economic
security insurance is expected to be
made by the Commissioners after
Congress takes up for consideration
the expected proposals of President
Roosevelt on these subjects.
One Of the major principles Of DR..
Halbert's plan is to use revenues from
those assessed under the plan to
finance a work relief program on a
large scale here.
The outstanding features Of the
plan, as outlined by DR.. Halbert, are:
l. The plan proposes to insure the
entire population. and not merely Ger.
tain selected industrial groups.
2. 1t includes insurance against
every kind of misfortune which might
cut of the income Of family.
Dole Would Be Banned.
8. 1t provides that all benefits to
the unemployed shall be given in the
form of opportunities to work and not
in the form of cash allowances in lieu
of work.
T. 1t places no limit on the time
over which benefits extend.
S. 1t provides graduated scale ac-
cording to the number of dependents
and extra expenses for sickness or
burial.
6. 1t provides for rehabilitation of
people who are incapacitated or un-
prepared to work.
DR.. Halbert said there we're 243,853
persons gainfully employed in the
District at the time of the 1880 census.
He estimates this number now exceeds
250o00. Allowing for persons now un-
employed and for self-employed per-
sons, he finds there now are at least
100000 persons here working for wage
or salary.
Estimates Revenue.
Assuming that 100000 persons
earned an average Of 1850 a year. a
total of $252, 900 900. and that 6 per
cent of this was collected from en-
ployers and employees combined, it
would provide revenue of SIS, 100000.
If $7,600,000 were added from taxes,
that would give total of S22, 800, 900.
If 100000 of the s7,60O00O paid by
the taxpayers were set aside for sup
plying material and supervision for
civil works projects and the other
$500, 900 were added to the S15,200,-
600 raised by payroll deductions. it
would make a total of SIC, 100000 for
paying and administering the allow
ances guaranteed by law.
IF the cost Of administration we're
81 ,456, 900, which is 7 per cent of $20,-
800, 1000, there would be $19,344,0 for
direct payments to benef1ciaries. This
leaves a margin of $4,000 above the
estimated cost Of the whole proposed
insurance program. Seven per cent
for administration would be a cost
which corresponds pretty close to ad-
ministrative costs of unemployment
insurance in England, Germany and
Austria"
Discusses Possible Reaction.
Discussing the cost of financing the
proposed all-inclusive insurance pro-
gram. DR.. Halbert said:
8AAO"Al6 bAAC WIN VI IIlC
one can imagine each worker groan-
ing as if he we're paying $22,S0O 900
a year. Considering the protection
offered, this is the cheapest insur-
ance he could buy. When he takes
insurance with a leading life-insur-
ance company he is not depressed by
the fact that it has an enormous in
come from him and the other policy
holders.
"Of course, the immediate answer
to this cheap insurance idea Is that
the plan provides no reserves and in
wolves paying out all the income an
nually and therefore offers no future
return for those who do not call for
benefits as they go along. Let us
admit this. and say that the whole
thing is just a big annual relief tax.
1t would be justified even for that, but
that is not the whole story, by any