Social Security Act

📌 Link to the Text of the Act

Read the statute (42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.)

📌 Why It Was Done

Enacted during the Great Depression to provide a federal safety net for the elderly, unemployed, and disadvantaged. It created programs for old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and welfare benefits.

📌 Pre-existing Law or Constitutional Rights

Before 1935, social welfare programs were largely state or local. The Act marked a major expansion of federal responsibility for economic security.

📌 Overreach or Proper Role?

Supporters hailed it as essential relief and a cornerstone of modern social policy. Critics at the time argued it overstepped federal authority, but the Supreme Court upheld it as constitutional in 1937.

📌 Who or What It Controls

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  Federal agencies (primarily the Social Security Administration)
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  States (co-administer unemployment and welfare programs)
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  Employers and employees (fund Social Security via payroll taxes)

📌 Key Sections / Citations

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  42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.
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  Title II: Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
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  Title XVIII: Medicare (added in 1965)
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  Title XIX: Medicaid (added in 1965)

📌 Recent Changes or Live Controversies

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  Long-term solvency concerns for Social Security Trust Funds
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  Political debates over raising retirement age, adjusting benefits, or modifying payroll tax caps
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  Ongoing state-federal debates over Medicaid expansion under the ACA

📌 Official Sources

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  U.S. Code – Title 42, Chapter 7
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  Social Security Administration
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  Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services