Impacts felt everywhere by one of the greatest and most far-reaching programs in American History. Here are some interesting historical facts about the program in Daviess County.
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Last Saturday, Aug. 14, marked the 64th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Thank heavens the program didn’t opt to take early retirement and quit on us!
It’s hard to fathom anything bigger than Social Security. If you’re drawing a benefit, you’re just one of approximately 44 million people currently receiving benefits nationwide. There are approximately 148 million people protected in some way by the program.
On Oct. 1, the Social Security Administration plans to launch the largest customized direct mailing of information the U.S. government has ever sent to the public. Social Security Statements will be given to approximately 125 million workers age 25 and older who are not already receiving benefits. About 500,000 statements will be issued each business day!
There is no question that Social Security has changed the fate of many Daviess Countians. Research in this newspaper’s archives as we prepare to publish a Year 2000 book, as previously announced, confirms just how important Social Security has been here from Day #1.
The first local Social Security board organized in 1937. Within a year the board had served 35 children in eight families — and complaints were becoming public about changing the head of the local board.
By 1959 the number of Daviess Countians on Social Security was growing right along with the rest of the country. Payments in this county jumped 163% in a 3-year period; one in every nine county citizens were getting some type of benefit payment. By 1963 Social Security payments exceeded $1 million.
According to the Census, Social Security payments totaled nearly $17 million in 1998. That sum is nearly 50% of all direct federal government spending made in Daviess County! The local per capita figure for retirement and disability payments is listed at $2,163.
Today there is a heightened interest in the future of Social Security, largely because of questions about fund solvency. President Clinton called for a national discussion on the financial problem last year. Now, with the presidential campaign looming ahead, we’re bound to hear more and more about the choices that will affect this program.
Yes, there will be a Social Security program, but what form will it take? How long will the trust funds be sufficient to pay benefits? What’s the value of Social Security protection to workers and their families? Will the Social Security taxes you pay be set aside for your future retirement needs? What options are there for ensuring the long-term financial stability of the fund?
As Daviess County’s population grays, Social Security continues to be a basic thread in the fabric of life here. Those government checks are more important than local businessmen care to admit; notice how many retail sales and promotions are timed to coincide with the various government checks delivered here. It’s no coincidence!
Most “Baby Boomers” are wishing for many more successful anniversaries for Social Security. That’s good. The public interest that has gotten the program this far will probably continue to grow. Nobody wants a return to the times before Social Security arrived, even though fewer and fewer of us can remember back that far.
The folks who work in the bureau of Social Security are about as good as bureaucrats get, workin’ to help the old-timers even if they aren’t particularly appreciated (just keep the checks coming, please). But even that’s reassuring. An old-timer, after all, is someone who remembers when a bureau was a piece of furniture.