The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-04-03

age ana SURVIVORS insurance, I'm
employment insurance and the like
This Is the stun money Is now takel
out Of your pay envelope for.
Under the Social Security Act o
1895, the Social Security Board 4
charged with recommending to Con
gress changes In the existing law
Complying with this law, the SSE
has drawn up a detailed program o.
specific alterations 1t believes ad'
visable.
The report Is held confidential
awaiting the congressional nod
which should properly come from
the house committee on ways ano
means or the Senate committee Of,
finance, these matters being con.
sidered in the nature of taxation
But since these committee are now
and for some time to come will all
be tied up on the new tax bill and
some kind Of q Ruml plan, II seems
unlikely that the Social Security
boards recommendation will see
the light Of publicity for quite
spell.
CONGRESS BACKTRACKS
The fact Is that twice before, In
l94l and l942, the Social Security
board recommended changes In the
existing law and got no place,
Furthermore, Congress actually
backtracked. In that II Cancelled So
cial Security rate increases which
under the original law were sched-
uled 10 go into effect Jan. /, 1912.
In that situation, you have the
real tip-off on how much to be
varied by the National Resources
Planning boards voluminouS recon-
mendations which created so much
CONSERVATION when the President
FIRST sprung them on Congress,
Hailed as IAN American Beveridge
plan." NRPB reports 90 way of the
deep end In proposing headlong
changes In existing relief, social
welfare, taxation and business prac-
tees,
As a New Deal reform program
or potential Democratic party
platform for 1914 NRPB recommen-
dations make interesting subjects
for conversation about Utopia, but
the mere fact that Congress has
been totally unlnterested In such
stuff since the war began would
seem to indicate that nothing seri.
Gus will be done about the proposed
reforms In the immediate future.
even though the President did ask
Congress TO do something about the
matter at this session,
Around Social Security board
headquarters, there Is even an un-
official feeling that the cause OF
Social Security may have been In
jured by injecting National Re-
sources Planning board reports into
the scene at this time. The idea is
that by asking too much, the NRPB
may have set back hopes which
the Social Security board had for
putting into effect more moderate
reforms.
CHANGES SOUGHT
While the new Social Security
board recommendations are still
held confidential, the general nature
Of changes which Ssh wants can be
pretty we'll determined by the
boards previous proposals and re.
cent public utterances Of Chairman
Altmeyer. These include:
!. LIBERALIZATION OF the entire
Social Security system. eliminating
present state participation 80 as 10
pay unemployment insurance out OF
the federal treasury. State govern"
ments and most states rights con-
gressmen are against this. Organ.
lied labor and big business are for
II. the latter because 1t would elm.
mate making so many state returns,
keeping SO many records.
g Broadening coverage TO take In
20 million domestic and farm labor
ers not now eligible for benefits.
The present law covers 40 million
workers.
8. Provision Of temporary bene.
At payments for temporary disabil.
ity, such as sickness or injury in
CURED in nonindustrlal disability.
In other words, health insurance 0
some kind.
4. Payment for total disability, IN
addition to present old-age bene-
fits.
Broadening the existing Social
Security law TO include these bene-
fits would mean O 10 per cent TO IL
per cent tax on earnings, up to O
half of which would be paid by
workers, the other half by employ.
ers. Social Security now Is Q 5
per cent payroll tax on the first
$4,000 OF earnings. I per cent OF
which is paid by the employe. This
rate under the present law goes to
Z per cent Jan. !. 1914, and to Q
per cent Jan. /, 1919.
SSB's position Is that further IN.
creases should be planned now while
payrolls are high 10 build up re.
serves, and 10 cheek imitation.