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SOCIAL SECURITY
(Continued)
the worker. There is nothing to guarantee- control over that agency to employees. It may also be controlled by
employers. In other words, giving the
government control over industrial relations creates a fulcrum which means
great power for an unknown user.
I be introduction of compulsory social
insurance in cases of sickness, or eom-
pulsory seeeieil insurance in cases of unemployment, means that the workers
must be subject to examinations, investigations, regulations, and limitations.
Their activities must be regulated in accordance with tbe standards se-t bv governmental agencies. To that we -ball not
stand idly hy and give our assent.
Wen and women, I trust I may mil be
sounding mv warnings upon tin- empty
air. I hope that they may find a lodgment in the minds anil the hearts of my
countrymen. I bid you have a care in
all these attempts lo regulate the personal relations and the normal personal
activities of the- citizenship of our country ere it be too late.
There is in the minds of many an
absence of understanding of tbe fundamental essentials of freedom. They talk
Freedom, and yet would have bound
upon their wrists tbe gyves tbat would
lie them to everlasting bondage. And
no matter how sympathetic or humanitarian is tbe gloss over tbe plan and tbe
scheme, I again bid vou beware. Wc
know not when or how this great strug-
L'le- going on in F.urope will terminate,
or what il shall mean for the future of
Congressmen W. R. Poage (D) and Bruce Alger (R), both of
Texas, expressed their views regarding Social Security on a
recent Faets Forum program. Congressman Poage, who feels that
Social Security is "safe and sound," speaks first:
those countries; but at least W ■ .
people- of tin- United States hoi''
1-1 • • e - I i r 3111.' i
liberties in their own hands, lor II ,-
come lo pass tbat our Ann ii'3 .
i tales
institutions anil '
America whose
we so much revere, may
the ol
id in relighta
>u ii
ilie-
corr
heart Hume
i,l -,,
aloft, and thus
torch, rekindlin
world's liberty.
For a mess of pottage, under th1
tense of compulsory soeieil insU' *"*
let us not voluntarily surrender th**"ri'ri
damental principles of liberty anfcnkr
dorn. the hope- of the Republic te -.;i
United Stales, the leader and teafl
the world of the signifiram
greal anthem chorus of luiin-11
liberty!
I\ I. BEEN requested lo outline briefly my views em our Sen ieil Si < ill it V
system. I look on Soeieil Security eis
one of the great forward steps of our
generation. It is not perfect. It is nol
complete. It has defects. Some- ol these
arc defects of organization and administration. These ' em eunl should be corrected. It is admittedly siibjta-t tee some
fundamental objections. Here the question is: Can you olTer any better system
to cure even more fundamental evils of
our economic system? We musl balance
the good against the bad. I ibink the
balance weighs heavily in favor of Social
Security.
Well, what is this Social Security
system? It is our entire blended pro-
gram of self-help, employer assistance
anil government eiiel directed to the- e.b-
jea-tiw eef minimizing economic dependence of the aged, the crippled and the
helpless. It is basically insurance instead of charity. Insurance- is just as
American as ham and eggs. It is the
invention of capitalism. Insurance is
neither foreign nor socialistic, lln the
contrary, as I see it. our besl hope
againsl communism is the creation of a
fnni economy bused on the savings of
the people during their productive years
with the assurance- that whin that productivity is lost, through no fault of
their own. that they can -till hope- to
enjoy u reasonable buying power,
Basically, that is exactly what Social
Security provides. How does it do it V
For those who are already too old to
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build up a retirement fund out of earnings, it provides old age assistance based
on need. That this phase i- inadequate
and that it is oftlimes inaptly administered, is freely admitted. Bul il is far
better than the complete dependence on
the charitably inclined individuals and
organizations of ;i generation ago. Nor
is old age assistance planned as a permanent part eef the- Soeieil Security program. For those who, due to special
circumstances like blindness, widowhood, infancy, and for crippled children,
there are special grunts--again inadequate bul ol tremendous help.
A- I see ii the real (unction of Social
Security rests on the Old \ge and Survivor- Insurance. Gradually each person
in the 1 nited States will be required I"
deposit ei fixed per cenl of his earnings
with the system us premium payments
on a poliev of insurance which will pro-
vide payments to him during his old
eige- en to hi- Burvivors. His employer
will be- required to make ;i contribution
lo lhe same fund. The rates musl of
course be actuarially sound, just as they
niii-t In- for a private insurance com-
peinv. These rales must in like manner
In- -ee adjusted ;i- to cover adequately
the- ri-ks involved.
There is one substantial risk which
I feel should he more adequately covered theit is the ri>k of loss of earning
power due' to disability. I think these
rules should be high ei gh to ee,ve-i
every case- of total disability eit whatever eine incurred. The only reason for
I ■*• In
paying benefits eil age 65 i-
lliul the experience of munkind ' vo(p
dicated thai most people ein- ,|,| |,
somewhat iliseil.le-el when thev re* lltl| (
age. I think that the young n'J',| s,.,
loses hi- arms or suffers some " Tolhal
capacity eil age 25 or '55 should C, u
the same type- eef aid. Surely h
even iii.en- desperately than lheats ■
mun. us In- will more often li-|V'iilii-,|
family obligations, cion«
The House of lie-pn--,-nielli'1 | |(,
recently passed legislation exli
coverage if the insured partv is ■> i- ,.,
or older. I would put no ei?eople
Surely such a program woul" t ,,
man; people lo pick and lo
own doctor, who are now forci'» innia
the socialized program of -'''el wi
ganized charity, ll will be a sti
;ig;iin-t socialized medicine ein1'' I- ||
demands lor other lypes of ~'" I lea
service. I be
Anil what of tin- coverage "'lie- ,
Security? There are those- vvl'-'eeii e
il because liny sav il docs n<*l| mai
enough. Congress has ulwa
slowly because we wanted the -s eiel ,,
be -eeiiiiel. Bul it does not in*1
"thiilv dollarevery-Thursday' ' "- "■
(In the other band there eire' ihf.lion
complain thai the system shoid0. il c,
tiiclv voluntary. That woulel ll.n-
except thai llie- very people wb" inn-i
most would, generally sprakiwti-i-s.
no payments and would still 1"' Ih'-
of charily or of direcl govcrim"'" * "ee
ance.
U 13
Facts Forum News, JaniK'^m
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