Show e National Topics Interpreted by William Bruckart I National Press Building Building- Washington D D. D C C. C At Washington At last after years of ot talking a social security program pro pro- gram is before Social congress And now Security that It Is s before congress there Is Isa Isbrand isa a brand new outburst of talk b because because be be- cause it seems the tile social securers securers securers ers never can can agree among themselves them them- selves The result Is that leadership lender leader ship In the house and In the senate senate senate sen sen- ate is trying vainly to follow administration administration administration ad ad- ministration Instructions and nd has hns run afoul of all kinds of difficulties The Time end Is not yet but It Is safe to say without fear of any necessity for retraction that the social securIty securIty security ity program will not go back to President Roosevelt as a ft law In Inthe Inthe inthe the form It was presented as an I administration bill I I find ever everywhere where among those thos I Inot not charged with responsibility for forthe forthe forthe the social security legislation that there Is much confusion and lack of understanding as ns to what the President has proposed It Is easily easBy understood An Any time that It requires requires requires re re- re- re quires thirty thousand words to explain a piece of legislation obviously obviously ob ob- that legislation must be com com- plex To comprehend what the length of ot Mr lr Roosevelt's Roose social security message Is It Is only necessary necessary essary I think to remind readers renders that the message with Its explanation explanation explanation tion would till fill approximately thirty thirty- five columns of an nn ordinary news news- paper Many persons naturally will fall asleep before they wade through that much material But let us attempt to summarize the social security bill hlll It provides first for a n national system of compulsory contributory old age Insurance second It authorizes appropriations to be used as federal subsidies plain gifts to the Individual states to help them pension the age aged 1 who cannot be brought under an Insurance insurance ance s system stem predicated upon their service er In n commerce and Industry and third n a voluntary system stem of old age annuities Is set up The system of compulsory con con- tributary oJ old age Insurance Is designed designed de do signed to protect those who are no longer able to work but hut who have done their turn on the payrolls of Industry An old age fund Is set up In the treasury of the United States Initially the money comes from the treasury but ther thereafter there Is a n tax operating on payrolls of all nIl those who employ workers In numbers numbers numbers num num- bers exceeding four This tax will start January Januar 1 1037 1937 at a rate of 1 per cent It Is Increased to 2 per percent percent percent cent as of January 1 I 1 1942 1042 42 3 per percent percent percent cent as of January 1 1947 11 4 per percent percent percent cent as of January 1 1952 and 5 per cent after January 1 I 1 1957 37 The employer er pays the tax but he collects half of It by a deduction from the time payroll of the Individual worker The age of sixty five years Is fixed as the time when a worker shall retire and receive this pension The pensioner can receive e as much as ns 30 30 a n month If the Individual dies before retirement his dependents receive back the amount paid pard In In his behalf As a part of the old fige age pension system the legislation sets up an anold anold anold old age fund In which workers may purchase an annuity but they never may acquire more than a total total total to to- tal of maturity value the value the ultimate ultimate ul ul- ul amount from amount from which their Income may be Increased Then there Is the time much discussed unemployment insurance This also Is predicated upon a n tax on Industrial industrial Indus indus- trial payrolls but It Is Is' Isa a state proposition That Is the federal government Is attempting to encourage encourage age Individual states to enact legislation legislation legis legs I lation which will protect the worker work work- er In n periods such as ns that through which we have passed since 1929 1920 In other words this phase of the legislation Is designed to cause workers and their employers to lay aside a certain percentage of ot their Income while they are employed to be used when times are arc hard There are countless subdivisions In the bill none of which are simple aim sim I pIe that seek seeli to protect the many who for one reason or another do donot donot donot not qualify under the general terms of the legislation For Instance aid nd to dependent children Is pro pro- vided tided Federal health subsidies a kind of health Insurance Is Insurance Is pro pro- posed Maternity aid Is arranged and extraordinary cases are ore covered cov CO ered covered such as os al aid to crippled children chil dren There are other subdivisions much too Intricate to analyze here herp for the reason that their application application application tion Is decidedly limited The drafters drafters drafters draft draft- ers of ot the legislation sought to cover all nil Whether they have done so can cnn be determined only after atter the time legislation legis legis- legislation lation has hns been In operation some years I have been unable to compute the cost of ot this legislation to the federal federal federal fed- fed eral and state Counting governments and the Cost no one of ot course can approximate the expense It t will he be e to Industry It ItIs ItIs Itis Is one of ot those things so far Cor reachIng reach reach- re reaching chIng ch- ch Ing In Its effect as to make utterly Impossible advance nd calculations or orthe of the cost In dollars and cents Suf Sut- fice flee It t to say that all through the bill as It now wends Its way through legislative channels are arc frequent paragraphs where money either la IS appropriated or authorized to be appropriated appropriated ap ap- In the future One wa wag covered the money phases of the bill the other day with a remark that It was not unlike the conversations between between between be be- tween Amos and Andy the rn radio lo comedians for there Is s five million three million twenty million sev sev- eight enty-eight million and so on through the list Yet It Is not the money phases that constitute the difficulties In the legislation as the leaders lenders In congress congress congress con con- gress see them The bill sets up an Intricate s system stem of administration against which even the present far flung list of New Deal agencies pales Into Insignificance First there Is the ponderous organization organization or or- for administration to be created hero In Washington Beneath Beneath Be Be- neath that there are state organizations organizations organizations In every ery state regional nn and 1 county organizations and even city administrative bureaus I r think It takes no stretch of ot the Imagination to foresee how many workers willbe will willbe be necessary to do Just the plain chores of keeping a record of all nIl the Individuals on the government pa payrolls rolls federal and state for a administration administration ad ad- 1 ministration of this legislation there Here In Washington we will have havea ave aveI I a social Insurance board a group of ot three members receiving a n near year ear each ench and serving for tor six years The federal emergency relief administrator administrator ad ad- will have bave duties to perform perform per per- form In conjunction with the lie social Insurance board as well as apart from it This Is not all The secretary of the treasury Is charged with the management and Investment of ot all of the monies un under the various funds and It Is he who must see that the they are properly disbursed In congress considerable jealousy has has' arisen among committee chairmen chairmen chairmen chair chair- men party wheel wheel- J Jealousy horses and those I n Aroused who would enjoy being administration ion tion spokesmen Some of them It hardly need be said believe belleve their political salvation lies in n following the administration blindly and In addition there Is s another segment of ot legislators who keep their eyes on the historical significance of ot passing events This group wants to have a leading part in n enactment of ot the social security legislation because because because be be- cause It must be said this Is the greatest of all nIl experiments undertaken undertaken under under- taken at any time by the American government From lobby conversation conversation conversation conversa conversa- tion It Is perfectly evident that there are many men In n the house and senate who would be willing to retire to whatever rewards their political service has given them only to become known as the father of the social security le legislation This condition has precipitated I several humorous circumstances Senator Wagner of New York sponsored sponsored spon spon- sore 1 the legislation In the senate and Representative Lewis of ot Maryland Maryland Mary Mary- land proposed It In time the house Senator Senator Senator Sen Sen- ator ator Wagners Wagner's committee arranged to start hearings on a stated date daten In n the senate and that date was announced announced an an- rather suddenly No sooner soon soon- er had the A Wagner agner committee h hearings hearings hear hear- ings beet beer announced than Representative Representative Doughton of ot North Caroling Carolina Carolina Caro Caro- lina ling scheduled similar hearings before before before be be- fore his ways and means committee In the time house He set the hearings one day ahead of the senate and the time rivalry between the two for tor headline headline headline head head- line witnesses has been to say tho the thoI least a source of many Jokes Some weeks ago I reported to you that there were rumblings of ot dUn dUn- ahead for tor Trouble the time Presidents President's gl- gl Ahead gantIc works program program program pro pro- gram as his new experiment In recovery efforts Is s de de- scribed He lIe asked congress for a I lump sum of of- with which to revive the heavy Industries and other lines of ot commercial endeavor endeavor en en- deavor denvor that they may absorb some of those unemployed ed now on relief rolls It will be remembered that In h his annual message to congress ho lie said with emphasis that federal aid to the destitute must stop that the giving of relief directly was a state responsibility The TIle first hitch encountered by bythe bythe bythe the administration wheel-horses wheel In guiding the public works bill Ill through congress developed eloped In the I house when the leaders anxious to I pass the legislation as the White WhiteHouse WhiteHouse House dictated sought a special rule which limited debate to a n couple of hours and made It t almost Impossible for In Individual members to amend the bill Several scores of Democrats and all of the Republicans henna balked bulked For several days the tho house leaders fought gallantly to keep the stubborn opposition from running away vay with things but the defections from the Democratic ranks became so large that a Q 1 compromise compromise compromise com com- promise had to be offered It was accepted and the Republican critics and Democratic opponents were successfully squelched a wf rn Nwan Nanan |