Aug. 14, 1935, FDR Signs Social Security Act It seems like Social Security has always been with us. Truth is, when President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on Aug. 14, 1935, it was a revolutionary idea whose time had come in the depths of the Great Depression. Guaranteeing a minimum income into old age as a right after working all of one’s life wasn’t seen as practical when the national economy was just barely turning the tide into better days. Up until 1935, giving people federal funds to survive was a new concept and some Americans were against it. Even the Supreme Court failed to issue definitive rules on its constitutionality, leaving it to Congress to decide. But FDR and hungry older Americans couldn’t wait any longer. Unemployment was high, people were living longer, retiring earlier and living in poverty with no income. A grassroots movement to bring older Americans out of poverty started to grow. Townsend Clubs, started by Social Security advocate Dr. Francis E. Townsend, began to form to demand that any American over age 60 stop working and receive $200 per month in federal funds to pay for basic necessities. The concept was not new to FDR, either, who signed a similar state law as New York governor. He ordered a committee to create the 1935 Social Security Act and Aug. 14 he signed it into law with federal funds but with the main funding mechanism the payroll tax. Later, children and the disabled were covered by the act. Today almost all the workforce participates in funding Social Security as it has become known as one of the nation’s most efficiently run programs. It’s counted on by needy elderly, children and disabled throughout America. Its enactment told Americans who were too old, too young or unable to work that they don’t deserve to live in poverty. #PROUAW ... See MoreSee Less