The Elderly and the birth of Social Security Ms. De La O English 9

Discuss With your partner, jot down at least five points that we have learned about Candy in Chapter 3 in Of Mice and Men Consider what Candy will do once his time on the ranch is done

The Great Depression, the Working Class, and the Elderly Nearly half of the working age population became unemployed in some parts of the country. Federal Emergency Relief (FERA) programs The Elderly Nearly half of the working age population became unemployed in some parts of the country. Even young, healthy people lost their jobs and watched their savings dry up. Elderly; weren’t well enough to work or couldn’t find the jobs that would allow them to rebuild their lost investments. That made many of the elderly completely dependent on their families, but hard times for younger family members often meant little or nothing left to provide for their parents.

Discuss Reference your notes from ‘The Government and the Great Depression’. With your partner, discuss the effect of the Great Depression on the family Hard times generated new waves of migration. Unemployed workers crossed the country to search for jobs, further dispersing families. Children were sent away to orphanages and older family members who had no income of their own were more likely to end up in the poorhouse or dependent on charity.

The intervention of the Government The pressure for relief to the elderly did not come so much from the old people as it came from their children. The role of the next generation Sometimes people seemed to feel that it was greedy old people who wanted something for themselves, but it was much more their children who wished to be relieved of the burden Children must support their parents, their grandparents, their children, their grandchildren, their brothers and sisters.

Elderly Assistance By 1928, just prior to the start of the Great Depression, only 6 states and territories had old-age assistance laws. The plans were quite limited and inconsistent from state to state: Arizona and Hawaii Age limits (65 to 75) Residency clauses Income/Property caps As the Depression deepened, that number increased, until there were 28 states and 2 territories (Alaska and Hawaii) with old-age assistance programs by 1934 All but Arizona and Hawaii refused to make payments to older people who had children or relatives who could support them. Some states provided for those who were 65

Elderly Assistance As the depression wore on, private charities and benevolent societies couldn’t keep up with the demands for assistance Local governments states federal government people they would otherwise have helped had to rely on public welfare instead. Local governments couldn’t care for the exploding numbers of poor people on their welfare rolls and turned to the states for help in meeting their obligations. The states couldn’t operate with deficit budgets or issue new money to pay their obligations, but the federal government could, so the states began to look to the federal government for help.

Social Security A 1937 Social Security pamphlet said: “Old people, like children, have lost much of their economic value to a household. Most American families no longer live in houses where one can build on a room or a wing to shelter aging parents and aunts and uncles and cousins. They no longer have gardens, sewing rooms, and big kitchens where old people can help make the family’s living. Old people were not dependent upon their relatives when there was need in a household for work they could do. They have become dependent since their room and their board cost money, while they have little to give in return. Now they need money of their own to keep the dignity and independence they had when their share in work was the equivalent in money.” The Committee on Economic Security 1935: a majority of legislators agreed that a federal program for old-age pensions and welfare was required reported to President Roosevelt in 1935 that one-third to one-half of the 7.5 million people age 65 or older in the country were dependent on either public assistance or help from their families, and that only a relatively small percentage of that group were receiving any help from the government 1935: a majority of legislators agreed that a federal program for old-age pensions and welfare was required, to help the individuals in need, to stimulate the depressed economy by getting cash into the hands of citizens, and to “retire” older workers without impoverishing them in order to make their jobs available to younger people.