Social Security Act Becomes Law ca. 1935
(eVideo)

English

Originally released by WPA Film Library, 1935.

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On August 8, 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which created a federally-funded unemployment and old age insurance program. For the first time, the government provided citizens over the age of 65 a monthly pension, which paid through a payroll tax and matching employer contributions. The act also provides assistance for permanently disabled individuals, the temporarily unemployed (up to 25 percent of the population was unemployed during the Great Depression), and children without sufficient parental support.

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