Good Reasons to Celebrate 75th Anniversary of Social Security

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis celebrated the 75th anniversary of the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935, which created unemployment insurance. The act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Aug. 14, 1935.

"Losing a job is never easy, said Solis. Workers facing layoffs wonder how they will continue to support their families while they find work or enter training that will lead to new careers.

"The passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 created a lifeline for workers who lose jobs through no fault of their own, said Solis. The unemployment insurance program has been there to help these individuals bridge the gap between layoffs and re-employment.The program provides much-needed income support that helps workers stay in their homes and put food on the table while seeking out new jobs.

"Beyond the benefit to individual workers, unemployment insurance provides an important boost to the nation's economy, insisted Solis. Unemployment insurance recipients spend their benefits on food, fuel, utility bills and other necessities. Every dollar that goes into the program results in $1.60 in economic output.When consumers lose jobs and cannot spend, businesses suffer.Unemployment insurance softens the economic blow of layoffs by allowing workers to spend money in their local economies.

Solis used the opportunity to praise the recent extension of federal unemployment benefits.

"The recent recession has placed an increased demand on the unemployment insurance system, said Solis. In response, Congress and the administration have extended benefits on more than one occasion. Workers in some states now can receive up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. For those who cannot find work right away, this extended period of eligibility allows for the time needed to earn an associate degree or professional certification that can lead to a stable career.Not only are these workers more immediately employable, they have taken steps to ensure that they have jobs over the long run.In doing so, these individuals can break the cycle of layoffs that leaves too many wondering where they will turn for their next job.

The measure passed Congress in 1935 by large margins -- passing the House 372 to 33 and the Senate 77 to 6. A number of conservative Democrats in and outside the South refused to support the measure and either voted against it or-- in the cases of the blind Sen. Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma and Sen. William Gibbs McAdoo of California, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under his father-in-law President Woodrow Wilson -- abstained. Floridians backed the measure. The two senators Duncan Fletcher and Park Trammel, both of whom would die later in the year, voted for it. The five Floridians in the U.S. House -- Millard Fillmore Caldwell (who would later go on to serve as governor), Robert Green, Hardin Peterson, William Sears and J. Mark Wilcox -- all backed the law.