The Ypsilanti daily press., 1946-02-23
Low Income Farmers
Need Social Security

worker. no matter how hard they
work. may And II impossible TO save
money toward the time when they
can no longer WELD the scythe and
hay fork. Nor Is the farmer able,
in many cases, TO put by q little
money to provide for his wife and
family. should he die prematurely or
be disabled.
Consequently there are more and
more aged. persons In rural areas
who have to be cared for by county
and state on q charity basis--a pro-
cedure which Is not only expensive
but unfair. since It treats thrifty
and thriftless exactly alike. The
charity or "old age assistance"
as It's called. humps together the
persons who strove TO take care Of
themselves during their working
years but failed, with those who
squandered their earnings.
Mr.. Benedict guesses there'd be
fewer such charity cases and few
er farmers haunted by the spectre
Of becoming such charity cases
were workers In agriculture allowed
to participate In the social security
system. As everyone knows, the
system is really q huge mutual In
surance company. Each person
makes a regular compulsory pay
ment which Is geared to his ability
to pay.
EUoioe Plan
For Payments
II the farmers were covered by
social security (and Mr.. Benedict
isn't the only one who thinks they
should be. most Of the important
farm organizations have okayed the
idea; both presidential candidates in
the last election endorsed II. and the
social security board on January
28 once again importuned congress
to include farmers IND. II would
work something like this:
Farmer Jake Duncan adds up his
years sale of farm products and
finds he has marketed less than
SIS worth. That's his gross cash
income. Under Mr.. Benedicts plan,
Jake would be brought into the So
cial security system as q self-em-
ployed worker on an assumed net
income Of $500 a year.
Now Jake Is "sef-employed"-
and at the present time there is no
provision In the social security act
for insuring the self employed.
either in agriculture or in private
business. The way II works now,
the employed worker who IS COW
cred pays into the trust fund I per
cent Of his wages; his employer con-
tributes per cent in his behalf.
Since Jake has no employer. Mr..
Benedict suggests that Jake contrib
ute both the employer and EN-.
ployee share, In other words, Z per
cent Of his net income.
And hts net income, as stated ear
Her. Is $500. So Jake would pay So
a year. II he makes these payments
continuously for 30 years, he will
have paid into the social security
fund s24o. At retirement. he would
be entitled to approximately s1S q
month. Not a munifcent sum by
any means, but perhaps just the
little bit extra which, added to what
ever other assets he has, may keep
him from going TO the poorhouse In
later years. And his social secu-
rity contributions pay of rapidly.
In little more than two years aft
er he has retired, Jake win have
received back every cent he paid
In, plus interest. Not only that but
during the 80 years he will have
had the protection Of survivor
ship insurance. That Is, II he should
die prematurely. his widow would
not be left completely penniless. She
would get three-fourths Of the
monthly sum to which he was en-
titled at the time he died.
Suppose Jake finds II hard to
scrape together eight dollars at one
specific timer In that case he might
use a stamp book. A book perhaps
similar to war stamp books. Jake's
social security stamp book would
probably be issued by the post Of.
fee or by the social security board.
Whenever he had little extra mon
ey. he could buy stamps TO paste In
It. When the time came for him TO
make his annual eight dollar pay
ment. he would turn In the stamp
book plus whatever cash was need.
ed to make up the balance.
Jake would have q social security
account number and he'd have to
report his yearly earnings but the
report would be very simple. An
ned have to do would be 10 state
how much gross cash income he
received for the year. sign his name.
and that's all there'd be to II.