Evening star., 1939-08-27

The workings of the social Sc
cnrity ldtD. as 1t has been expand
ed and revised BY recent amend
n,ents, are described here in
series OF three articles, OF Which
this is the first.
BY BLAIR MOODY.
OF all the social reforms launched
by Uncle Sam in nearly seven New
Deal years, none is aimed so straight
to the fireside of so many American
homes as the new social security
law passed by the Congress which
adjourned early this month.
There has been an act of the same
name on the statute books for -four
years. Billions of taxes already have
been collected under it. But it was
nothing more than an imperfect
experimental first stab" It was lop-
sided, fiscally perilous. To $4,000
900 families If offered only uncer-
tain promise of an inadequate in
come at some time in the vague fu-
ture, in return for hard cash laid
out now.
But this new one is another story
1t Is not, of course, perfect. 1t
makes no pretense of covering every
body, or every emergency. But it
does change the whole basis, al
most the whole conception, of what
the Government Is trying to do for
the people under this social use OF
It's taxing power. 1t does offer to
families-whole families - security
and, when they understand it, peace
of mind 1t offers in return for pay
roll taxes protection, real protec-
tion-and now!
Altmeyer Sums Up.
Arthur j. Altmeyer, chairman OF
the Social Security Board and key
figure in altering the old act, sums
up the new one in sentence:
ut substitutes lifetime, family
protection for an individual annuity
collectable in old age after the bene-
ficiary has quit working
The new law, of course, does not
abandon the annuity idea. The pay
roll taxpayer still may retire when
he reaches IS and draw so much a
month-more, incidentally. than he
could draw from any private COM
pany by paying in the same pre-
miums'
But this retirement insurance
has been expanded and refined. 1t
takes into consideration not only
how much the insured" has paid
in, but what sort of family he sup
ports, what its needs are. 1t seeks
to gear the entire program to the
Nations social-economic require
ments on vast family foundation
Instead of leaving the question of
whether man or his widow and
children are to be cared for depend
ent on the way few logarithm
tables come out. the act is framed
to make the income from their pol
icies' actually adequate, with little,
if any, additional money needed to
live on. In short, when man ceases
to draw his pay for support of his
family-Whether he be dead or re-
tired-this law seeks to step into the
breach and make up enough of the
economic loss to keep the family
going. And to do it beginning next
January l, instead of in 1912.
Apparent Incongruities.
Admittedly, the new law contains
many provisions that are unequal,
some OF which may seem even
unfair. For example, a single man
pays just as heavy pay roll taxes
while he is working, but draws con-
siderably less on retirement than a
married man with an aged wife.
A widow who has no children can
not draw a cent of her husbands s
policy" until she has reached 65,
but widow with children can draw
monthly three-fourths of what her
husbands monthly annuity would
have been had he lived to be IS,
and, in addition. half of that base
amount for each of her children
under 49,
Yet, when that widows children
all have reached Is, or when all
have reached Is and are out of
school, her income ceases until she
is 65-even though there is 20 to
Is year gap during which she draws
nothing for support.
These apparent incongruities, how
ever, serve only to illustrate how
closely the new law is intended to be
geared in practical way to actual
family situations, according to Mr..
Altmeyer. The old bachelor, with
no one to support, obviously needs
less than the family man. But, when
he gets less, is not his money being
taken away and given to some
one else?
Not at all, Mr. Altmeyer explains.
He gets monthly annuity larger
than he could buy with his pay roll
tax contributions anywhere. What
the family man gets is a larger pro-
portion of the pay roll taxes paid
by employers.
Sets Up New System.
In other words, the basic annuities
are paid chiefly by the beneficiaries
themselves. But the broad economic
and social objectives of the act
added payments for wives and chill
dren, larger annuities and insurance
payments in the early years, bring
ing up Of small earned annuities"
to a living scale"-are paid for out
OF the pay roll tax contributions of
the employers.
Undoubtedly the most important
change in the law and one which
will affect the lives of most people
is that which sets up an entire new
insurance system" providing sub
stantial annuities to the widow and
children or dependent parents of a
pay roll taxpayer after his death.
Under the old law his estate would
receive something back" for his
pay roll taxes-but it would be a
fiat sum Of 31a per cent of his salary